LIVE: Portugal vs Nigeria – World Cup 2026 international friendly

The tournament will burst into life when cohosts Mexico host South Africa on Thursday.

Al Jazeera will bring you all the buildup, including the opening ceremony, ahead of our usual comprehensive text and photo commentary stream of the game.

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup – the first on African soil – hosts South Africa faced Mexico in the tournament’s opening match, playing out a 1-1 draw.

With 80,000 fans expected to pack the prestigious Estadio Azteca, Mexico will be fully expected to pick up all three points on this occasion.

Click here to read our full match preview of the opening game.

With the first game of the World Cup less than 24 hours away, Al Jazeera has explored the five biggest talking points that remain ahead of the 2026 edition’s kickoff:

• Iran’s tickets ‘withdrawn’ by the US
• Mexico City hit by protests before opener
• Banned Somali referee returns home
• England to carefully manage Saka
• Warm-ups wind down

Click here to delve deeper into our picks of the outstanding issues.

Football has gained a foothold in the United States, and the country seems ready to host the World Cup this summer – which was not clear in 1994.

Back then, when the US last hosted the World Cup, the country had no professional league and the national team was cobbled together with ex-collegians, journeymen, and semi-professionals.

“Leading into ’94, we were at risk on the ticket side,” former US Soccer President Sunil Gulati told Al Jazeera in a recent interview. “For the US Organizing Committee, it was a big concern if we could sell all the tickets.’’

In the end, the 1994 tournament was successful. A record 3.5 million (68,991 per game) attended matches; the US advanced from the group stage for the first time since 1930, losing 1-0 to eventual champions Brazil in the last 16; and seeds were planted for a professional league, Major League Soccer (MLS).

Football has since moved from the margins to the mainstream in the US.

MLS is thriving, the national team is ranked a creditable 16th in the world by FIFA, and as the World Cup returns this summer, ticket demand far outpaces supply.

“If you said in 1994 MLS would be a 30-team league, with [22] soccer-specific stadiums and averaging 20,000 crowds – not in our wildest dreams,” Gulati said.

“The landscape is completely different. The most visible thing is the development of professional leagues, MLS and the women’s league [NWSL]. We had no first division league. And now there is [also] USL Division 2 and 3. The number of teams has increased dramatically.”

Read more: How US football has moved from margins to mainstream

We are just a day away from the start of the 2026 edition of the FIFA World Cup.

The opening week of the 48-team tournament is packed with action – kicking off with Mexico against South Africa on Thursday, which is a game that we will bring you live here on Al Jazeera Sport.

As we build up to kickoff in Portugal’s friendly against Nigeria, we’ll take you through all the big talking points and key information ahead of the global football’s showpiece event – including when Portugal play their first game.

Iranian footballer Mehdi Taremi talks to Al Jazeera’s Samantha Johnson ahead of one of the most politically charged World Cups in history.

Hello, welcome and thanks for joining our live coverage of Portugal against Nigeria.

It is World Cup eve and the much-fancied Portuguese face a Nigerian side that were one of the biggest names to miss out on qualification for the 2026 edition of FIFA’s showpiece.

The Super Eagles will therefore have their own point to prove as they face a Portugal side full of star names, but with plenty of players jostling for position as they seek to ensure they are in the starting lineup for the main event.

I’m Kevin Hand and I’ll bring you the live build-up, with stats, analysis and opinion – of both this match and World Cup itself.

James Dodd will bring you the team news when it drops and our text commentary stream of the game.

In the meantime, you can check out all our World Cup preview material on our dedicated tournament page by clicking here.

All the news on the teams, lineups and start time as Portugal complete their World Cup preparations against Nigeria. https://t.co/9kgKhjK8cz

— AJE Sport (@AJE_Sport) June 9, 2026