Mexico vs South Africa: Why to back Raul Jimenez to score at 6/4 in World Cup opener

The wait is finally over. The 2026 World Cup begins at the iconic Estadio Azteca, where Mexico and South Africa will have the honour of kicking off the first of 104 matches in the expanded 48-team tournament.

This edition promises to be historic for several reasons. Not only is the competition larger than ever before, but it is also being staged across three host nations for the first time, with Mexico once again taking centre stage in football's greatest spectacle.

Drawn alongside South Africa, the Czech Republic and South Korea in Group A, Javier Aguirre's side know that a victory on opening day would hand them an early advantage in what could prove to be a tightly contested section.

El Tri have not lost their opening match at a men's World Cup since a defeat to Norway in 1994 and arrive with confidence flowing after navigating the entirety of 2026 unbeaten.

Raul Jimenez: Tryst with destiny

When Raul Jimenez suffered a horrific skull fracture while playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020, few could have imagined that he would one day return to the World Cup as Mexico's leading man.

The veteran striker inspired his country to a first CONCACAF Nations League title in 2025 and now shoulders the responsibility once more as the focal point of Mexico's attack on home soil.

Jimenez enjoyed a productive 2025-26 campaign with Fulham, scoring nine goals and providing three assists in the Premier League, before finding the net again in Mexico's 5-1 victory over Serbia in their final warm-up match.

While Julian Quinones, Brian Gutierrez and Alvaro Fidalgo will all contribute in the final third, much of the spotlight will inevitably fall on the 35-year-old, whose story has become one of resilience, perseverance and redemption.

Backed at 6/4 (2.5) to score anytime, Jimenez has the opportunity to write another memorable chapter in his remarkable career.

Emotional moment if Raul Jimenez scores

For a player who wears his emotions on his sleeve, a goal on World Cup opening night could prove almost impossible to contain.

The recent passing of his father has added another layer of significance to this tournament, making every appearance in a Mexico shirt feel even more meaningful.

Estadio Azteca was the first great footballing stage of Jimenez's career, and there would be a certain poetry in seeing him score his first World Cup goal at the very stadium where so many of his dreams first took shape.

If football still believes in full-circle moments, few would be more fitting than Jimenez finding the net at Azteca and giving an entire nation a moment to remember.