Mexico vs South Africa Predicted Lineups & Team News

The World Cup is finally upon us and on Thursday evening (UK time), the chosen players of Mexico and South Africa will stride out on to the pitch at the Estadio Azteca to get the ball rolling on the summer festival of football.

Which players will the managers pick though? Let’s investigate with the team news, key players and Predicted Lineups ahead of Mexico vs South Africa…

Mexico:

As one of the host countries, Mexico didn’t have to go through the qualification process for the World Cup, therefore haven’t played a competitive international since the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final last July, where they beat the USA 2-1.

Mexico manager Javier Aguirre didn’t create too many waves when naming his 26-man squad for. Guillermo Ochoa has the chance to add to a staggering 152 caps, with the 40-year-old going to his fifth World Cup. He is however expected to be the backup behind Raul Rangel.

In recent matches, Mexico have lined-up in a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Raul Jimenez, who will leave Fulham at the end of the month after three years, the man leading the line. The 35-year-old has scored 45 times for his country in 124 appearances and has every chance to add to that over the coming weeks.

Captain Edson Alvarez enjoyed a good campaign domestically. He’s spent the past season on loan to Fenerbahce from West Ham United. Whether he starts or not though is in doubt with Erik Lira having impressed as the holding player in the midfield in recent matches.

South Africa:

South Africa beat Nigeria to winning Group C in the CAF region of qualifying, They weren’t exactly prolific though, scoring just 15 goals in their 10 qualifying matches, conceding nine.

Since securing their place at the World Cup, they haven’t exactly impressed. They lost in the Round of 16 at AFCON to Cameroon and haven’t played a team of quality in the pre-tournament friendlies.

Manager Hugo Broos doesn’t boast many household names in his squad, with Lyle Foster of Burnley arguably being their biggest name. The 26-year-old scored just three goals in the Premier League this season but has found the back of the net 10 times in 26 matches for his country.

Information on how they’ll line up is scarce with South Africa having played behind closed-doors in their recent preparation matches. In their last competitive match, they went 3-4-2-1 and they could stick with that or revert to a 4-2-3-1.

Captain Ronwen Williams is their number one keeper and should be one of the first names on the team sheet.

Remember you can bet on this match and check out all of the live Mexico vs South Africa Odds over on betfred.com

Mexico vs South Africa Key Players:

Raul Jimenez (Mexico) 

It’s tough to look beyond the main man up front for Mexico. Many of us have watched him for several seasons in the Premier League and he’s scored double-digit goals in all competitions for Fulham both in the 25/26 campaign and 24/25.

He scored in the 5-1 victory over Serbia in their last warm-up match but that was the first time he’s found the back of the net since scoring against Paraguay in a defeat back in November 2025.

Jimenez is also Mexico’s primary penalty taker and with expanded VAR on show, I expect plenty of spot kicks to be awarded. The veteran striker has every chance to add to his 45 international goals on Thursday.

Lyle Foster (South Africa)

Foster may not have exactly lit up the Premier League with Burnley but ten goals in 26 matches for his country is a pretty decent return.

Despite not being prolific, there are signs that there is a really top player here. Burnley did spend €10m all-in to secure his services from Belgian side Westerlo back in 2023.

Like Jimenez above, he is the primary penalty taker for his country, so that is another reason to keep an eye on him. If Bafana Bafana do create a guilt-edged chance or two, they’ll want it to fall to Foster.

For all of our coverage and betting markets for the festival of football this summer, please check out our World Cup Odds over on betfred.com