After much discussion, copious articles and draft after draft of Fantasy FIFA World Cup 2026 teams, the action finally begins tonight.
Co-hosts Mexico get the 2026 World Cup underway against South Africa in a re-run of the 2010 curtain-raiser.
Kick-off is at 20:00 BST.
TEAM NEWS
After much debate, Raul Rangel ($4.9m) gets the nod over Guillermo Ochoa ($4.2m) between the posts for Mexico. The former is owned by 4.9% of managers at the time of writing, so he is right on the cusp of passing the Scouting Bonus threshold.
Further forward, a familiar face to Fantasy Premier League managers, Raul Jimenez ($7.0m), leads the line.
The 17-year-old prodigy, Gilberto Mora ($4.5m), the youngest player at the World Cup, is on the bench.
As for South Africa, Burnley’s Lyle Foster ($5.4m) spearheads the attack.
While Rangel is flirting with the 5% ownership mark, no other player on show tonight is above that figure.
LINE-UPS
Mexico XI: Rangel, Montes, Vasquez, Reyes, Gallardo, Lira, Fidalgo, Alvarado, Gutierrez, Jimenez, Quinones.
Subs: Acevedo, Ochoa, Sanchez, Alvarez, Chavez, Romo, Pineda, Vargas, Mora, Chavez, Vega, Gimenez, Gonzalez, Huerta, Martinez.
South Africa XI: Williams, Modiba, Mbokazi, Sibisi, Mudau, Okon, Mokoena, Sithole, Adams, Foster, Rayners.
Subs: Chaine, Goss, Matuludi, Ndamane, Kabini, Makhanya, Sebelebele, Cross, Mbatha, Appolis, Moremi, Mofokeng, Zwane, Maseko, Makgopa.
READ MORE OF OUR FANTASY FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 CONTENT
GROUP A: Mexico | South Africa | Korea Republic | Czechia
GROUP B: Canada | Bosnia & Herzegovina | Qatar | Switzerland
GROUP C: Brazil | Morocco | Haiti | Scotland
GROUP D: USA | Paraguay | Australia | Turkiye
GROUP E: Germany | Curacao | Cote d’Ivoire | Ecuador
GROUP F: Netherlands | Japan | Sweden | Tunisia
GROUP G: Belgium | Egypt | Iran | New Zealand
GROUP H: Spain | Cabo Verde | Saudi Arabia | Uruguay
GROUP I: France | Senegal | Iraq | Norway
GROUP J: Argentina | Algeria | Austria | Jordan
GROUP K: Portugal | DR Congo | Uzbekistan | Colombia
GROUP L: England | Croatia | Ghana | Panama
Round 1 Scout Picks | Round 1 best captains | Round 1 best differentials: | Sleep-friendly XV | Players to avoid | Team reveals | Best players by position + price
Predicted line-ups | Penalty + corner takers | Direct free-kick takers
How to play World Cup 2026 Fantasy | What is ‘Scouting Bonus’? | How to order your starters + subs | Can you captain, transfer or sub 12th Man? | 150 of the best, worst and funniest team names
Join our mini-league + win prizes! | Stats Centre | FREE AI Team Rater | Fixture Ticker | Scouting Bonus tracker | Fixture calendar
