The football World Cup is finally here! Will Mexico or South Africa win the World Cup opening match?

The countdown is nearly over. This Thursday, the football World Cup will finally get under way. Ever since the Qatar edition in the winter of 2022, football lovers everywhere have been eagerly awaiting the opening match that would launch this global football tournament.

It may not be the most glamorous fixture of the 104 matches that will light up this 23rd edition, and yet three-quarters of the planet will have their eyes glued to the tournament opening game between Mexico and South Africa.

GoldenVegas Sport, the online sports betting site specialized in the World Cup, talks you through the analysis and the stakes of a match that kicks off a month of madness.

The bookmakers make the host nation favourite

In a balanced, wide-open Group A, also completed by South Korea and the Czech Republic, anything is possible. All the more so in a 48-team competition — a first in World Cup history — in which eight of the 12 best third-placed teams will go through to the next round.

Picking up a win is therefore a big step towards the round of 32. In that sense, the suspense in this first encounter is greater than the bookmakers suggest, as they install the host nation as clear favourite at odds of 1.45.

All of that could change quickly during the match, though, and South Africa's win probability, set at 8.0, could shift rapidly through live betting depending on how the game unfolds.

*Odds are subject to change. Event ends: 11 June at 9pm.

A former Jupiler Pro League man already assured of a record

If Mexico start as clear favourites, it is because the Aztecs were able to prepare better, unlike their opponents, who had every difficulty in the world reaching Mexico City because of visa problems.

On home soil, the Mexicans will therefore enjoy home advantage, while the Red Devils — Belgium's national side — will be based in Seattle throughout the tournament, where they play their first match against Egypt.

While we wait for our national team to enter the fray, our thoughts turn to Mexico, where a familiar face from the Jupiler Pro League is assured of a record that looked anything but certain. The man in question came close to making the list of big-name absentees, only to be called up at the last minute.

Guillermo Ochoa, the former Standard Liège goalkeeper, is set to become the first keeper to play in a sixth World Cup, at the age of 40. Which means that, like Messi, Ronaldo and Modrić, he too will be playing his final World Cup.

Outsiders for the title?

But can his team-mates hand him the ultimate send-off by setting him on the road to the world title? Unlike Norway, Uruguay, Switzerland or Japan, Mexico are not seen as outsiders.

But in football, today's truth is not necessarily tomorrow's. And this football World Cup looks set to spring surprises every single day.

That is exactly why you should follow it on GoldenVegas Sport, where between our blog and our tournaments you can make the most of the World Cup — and predict who will lift the trophy on 19 July.

*Odds are subject to change. Event ends: 11 June at 9pm.

A BetXtra of 25% is available on every live bet placed on a tournament match, plus a BetXtra of 50% on every accumulator of at least four selections.