TASHKENT, June 11. /Dunyo IA/. Today marks the kickoff of the 23rd FIFA World Cup, an event eagerly anticipated by millions of fans worldwide, including football enthusiasts in Uzbekistan, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

For the first time in history, the tournament will be hosted jointly by three countries - the United States, Canada and Mexico. The World Cup matches will take place from June 11^th to July 19^th.

The 2026 World Cup is expected to be the largest in the tournament's history, featuring 48 national teams and a total of 104 matches. The main highlight for Uzbek fans will be the debut of the UZBEKISTAN national team at the world championship.

The opening ceremony and the tournament's inaugural match will take place at the legendary Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, which will be named “Mexico City Stadium” for the duration of the competition. The arena previously hosted the opening matches of the 1970 and 1986 World Cups.

According to the schedule, the tournament will open with a match between the national teams of Mexico and South Africa. The match will kick off today at 23:59 Tashkent time. The game will be officiated by a refereeing crew from Brazil, led by Wilton Sampaio.

Notably, the national teams of Mexico and South Africa also opened the 2010 World Cup. At that time, the match was officiated by a refereeing crew led by Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmatov.

The Uzbekistan national team, nicknamed the “White Wolves”, will play their first match of the tournament against Colombia. The match will take place at the “Azteca” Stadium in Mexico City.

In the second round, Uzbek team will face the Portugal national team, led by Cristiano Ronaldo. The match will take place at the “NRG” Stadium in the United States.

Uzbekistan national team will play its final group stage match on June 28 against the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the “Atlanta” stadium.