How to watch the 2026 World Cup in Mexico: Azteca 7, Canal 5, ViX, kick-off times

The 2026 FIFA World Cup runs from 11 June to 19 July 2026, and Mexico is at the centre of it. The tournament opens at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City with the hosts, El Tri, kicking off against South Africa, and three Mexican cities — Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey — will host group, round-of-32 and round-of-16 fixtures.

Every one of the 104 matches will air on Mexican free-to-air and streaming TV through TV Azteca (Azteca 7) and TelevisaUnivision (Las Estrellas, Canal 5, ViX). This guide explains who shows what, when Mexico plays, and the on-network privacy steps to take if you stream sport on your own home or mobile connection in Mexico.

FIFA World Cup 2026 in Mexico: key dates and host cities

What you need to know

Tournament window: 11 June – 19 July 2026.
Opening match: Mexico vs South Africa, Thursday 11 June, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, 1:00 p.m. CDMX.
Mexican host cities: Mexico City (Estadio Azteca, 5 matches), Guadalajara (Estadio Akron, 4 matches), Monterrey (Estadio BBVA, 4 matches).
Main Mexican broadcasters: Azteca 7 (TV Azteca) and Canal 5 / ViX (TelevisaUnivision).
Final: Sunday 19 July, MetLife Stadium, New York / New Jersey.

FIFA has confirmed that Mexico will play all three of its group fixtures on home soil, and Estadio Azteca becomes the first stadium ever to host three different World Cup opening matches (after 1970 and 1986).

Calendario del Mundial 2026: Mexico's Group A fixtures

Mexico is in Group A alongside the team it plays on opening night and two other opponents to be confirmed by the FIFA play-offs in March 2026. The three group games are:

Mexico vs South Africa — Thursday 11 June, Estadio Azteca (Mexico City), 1:00 p.m. CDMX / 3:00 p.m. ET.
Mexico vs South Korea — Thursday 18 June, Estadio Akron (Guadalajara), 7:00 p.m. CDMX / 9:00 p.m. ET.
Mexico vs UEFA play-off winner D — Wednesday 24 June, Estadio Azteca (Mexico City), 7:00 p.m. CDMX / 9:00 p.m. ET.

If Mexico finishes top two in Group A, the round of 32 begins on 28 June, with a likely Mexican fixture at Estadio Azteca on 30 June and a possible round-of-16 home match on 5 July.

How to watch Mexico's matches on Azteca 7

TV Azteca is one of two free-to-air rights holders for the 2026 World Cup in Mexico. Its main sports channel, Azteca 7, will carry 32 matches over the tournament — including the opener, Mexico's three group games, both semi-finals and the Final on 19 July.

Ways to watch Azteca 7 in Mexico

Free-to-air TV: Channel 7 on most cable, satellite (Sky, Dish) and digital antenna setups in Mexico.
Azteca Deportes app and website: Free live stream on iOS, Android, web and connected TVs for viewers in Mexico.
Cable carriers: Izzi, Totalplay and Megacable all carry Azteca 7 in HD.

Azteca Deportes uses geo-verification — its live-stream rights are limited to Mexico, so the service checks your network location against your account country.

Canal 5, Las Estrellas and ViX: the TelevisaUnivision matches

TelevisaUnivision holds the remainder of the Spanish-language rights and will split coverage across three platforms:

Canal 5 — free-to-air, the main broadcast channel for the bulk of the schedule.
Las Estrellas (Canal 2) — free-to-air, expected to carry Mexico's biggest fixtures.
ViX — streaming, with both an ad-supported free tier and ViX Premium for the full match library and exclusives.

ViX Premium pricing in Mexico

ViX Premium is the paid streaming tier from TelevisaUnivision. As listed on ViX's help centre, the current price in Mexico is:

MXN 149 / month, or
MXN 1,499 / year (effective ~MXN 125 / month).

ViX Premium includes the full live World Cup feed, original Spanish-language commentary, replays and Univision sports library content. ViX is available on iOS, Android, the web, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast and most smart TVs.

What's available on each broadcaster: the full split

Use this list to plan around which fixtures are on Azteca 7 vs Canal 5 / ViX:

Opening match (Mexico vs South Africa, 11 June): Azteca 7 and Canal 5 (shared free-to-air).
Mexico's three group games: Available on both Azteca 7 and Canal 5; full alt-cam and post-match analysis on ViX.
Standard group matches: Split — 32 in total go to Azteca 7, the remainder to Canal 5 / ViX.
Round of 32 and round of 16: Mixed split; the Mexican fixtures (if El Tri progresses) air free-to-air on both networks.
Quarter-finals: Free-to-air on the network with the rights to each tie.
Both semi-finals and the Final (19 July): Azteca 7 and Canal 5 / ViX simulcast.

Streaming on your home or mobile connection in Mexico: a privacy step

If you stream sport in Mexico — on the Azteca Deportes app, ViX, ViX Premium, or a cable carrier's app — your traffic is visible to your ISP (Telmex, Izzi, Totalplay, Megacable, AT&T, Telcel, Movistar and so on) and to the streaming platform itself. Two practical privacy concerns come up most often:

ISP visibility: Mexican ISPs can see which streaming services you connect to, and metadata about session times and volume.
Public Wi-Fi: If you watch in a café, an airport, a hotel or at a stadium fan zone, an unencrypted Wi-Fi network exposes the same metadata to anyone on that network.

What a VPN actually does

A VPN encrypts the connection between your device and a private server, so your ISP and any local network see encrypted traffic instead of a list of streaming endpoints. It does not unlock content you do not already have the right to watch, and it does not bypass broadcaster geo-restrictions.

Setting up a VPN before the tournament

If you want an encrypted connection in place before kick-off, the basic setup is the same on every platform:

Pick a reputable VPN provider with audited no-activity-logs policies. VPN Super's streaming guide covers what to look for.
Install the app on the devices you actually stream on — phone, tablet, laptop, smart TV. Direct downloads: iOS, Android, Windows.
Connect to a server close to where you physically are — for most readers in Mexico, that's a Mexico server to keep latency low while encrypting traffic.
Open your usual broadcaster app (Azteca Deportes, ViX, your cable carrier) and sign in as normal.

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Privacy scenarios for World Cup viewers in Mexico

Watching from a fan zone or stadium Wi-Fi

If you're at a public viewing in CDMX, Guadalajara or Monterrey and connecting to open Wi-Fi to follow a parallel match on your phone, the network around you is unencrypted. Turning on a VPN before you join the Wi-Fi means anyone else on that network sees encrypted traffic instead of which apps you are using.

Streaming on a Mexican ISP at home

On a residential Telmex, Izzi, Totalplay or Megacable connection, your ISP can log which streaming endpoints you connect to and for how long. A VPN replaces that visibility with a single encrypted tunnel to a Mexican server, so the ISP sees encrypted traffic only — without changing which broadcaster you have a right to watch.

Travelling within Mexico for the tournament

If you're moving between host cities and using hotel Wi-Fi, an airport network, or mobile-data hotspots, those networks vary widely in how well they're secured. A VPN gives you a consistent encrypted connection regardless of which network you're on.

Important: a VPN does not replace a broadcast subscription

Read this before you assume a VPN is a workaround

A VPN is not a way around geo-restrictions, broadcaster terms of service, or paid subscriptions. Streaming services use multiple signals — account billing country, payment method, device location, and platform-level checks — to enforce regional rights. We do not recommend using a VPN to access broadcasters or services you are not entitled to in your own country.

VPN Super is a privacy and security tool: it encrypts your connection on the networks you use, and that's the value it provides for sport viewers.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a VPN to watch the World Cup in another country?

No. We do not recommend using a VPN to access broadcasters outside your home country. Streaming services check more than just IP — account country, payment country and device signals are all used to enforce rights — and doing so generally breaches their terms of service.

Why use a VPN, then?

A VPN encrypts your connection on the network you're actually using. For sport viewers in Mexico, the practical wins are protecting your traffic from ISP-level metadata logging, securing public Wi-Fi at fan zones and hotels, and keeping a consistent encrypted tunnel as you move between networks during the tournament.

How many matches will Azteca 7 air?

TV Azteca's main sports channel, Azteca 7, will carry 32 matches across the tournament, including the opener, Mexico's three group games, both semi-finals and the Final.

How much does ViX Premium cost in Mexico?

ViX Premium is MXN 149 per month or MXN 1,499 per year as listed on the ViX help centre. It includes the full live World Cup feed plus Univision sports library content.

Where does Mexico play its group matches?

Mexico plays its three Group A matches at Estadio Azteca (vs South Africa, 11 June; vs UEFA play-off D, 24 June) and Estadio Akron in Guadalajara (vs South Korea, 18 June).

Which Mexican cities are hosting World Cup matches?

Three: Mexico City (Estadio Azteca — 5 matches including the opener), Guadalajara (Estadio Akron — 4 matches) and Monterrey (Estadio BBVA — 4 matches), for 13 matches on Mexican soil.

Is the opening match really at Estadio Azteca again?

Yes. Estadio Azteca hosts the 2026 opening match — the third time it has done so, after 1970 and 1986. FIFA has confirmed it as the first venue ever to host three World Cup openers.

Bottom line

Every match of the 2026 World Cup is on Mexican TV via TV Azteca (Azteca 7) and TelevisaUnivision (Canal 5, Las Estrellas, ViX, ViX Premium), and Mexico plays all three Group A games on home soil. Pick the broadcaster you already have access to, plan around the kick-off times in the schedule above, and — if you stream on your home or mobile network — use a VPN to keep your traffic encrypted on the connection you actually use.