It’s finally here. The stage is set in Mexico City for the opening fixture of the FIFA World Cup 2026 between co-hosts Mexico and South Africa on Thursday, 11 March, which means it’s time to deliver our first bet builder of the tournament.
Our bet builder tips today include five selections from Mexico vs South Africa, which can be linked together for a combined price of 16/1 using LiveScoreBet’s odds.
You can find our betting predictions for Mexico’s clash with South Africa at the Estadio Azteca below. Make sure to check out more of LiveScore’s World Cup 2026 predictions and betting tips when you’re done here.
World Cup Bet Builder Bets – Thursday, 11 March
Mexico to win
Brian Gutierrez (Mexico) to commit over 1.5 fouls
Teboho Mokoena (South Africa) to commit over 1.5 fouls
Raul Jimenez (Mexico) to score anytime
Cesar Montes (Mexico) to commit over 0.5 fouls
Bet Builder odds are 16/1 with LiveScoreBet – Potential winnings: £10 stake returns £170
Mexico to win
We kick off our free football tips with a straightforward pick from the match result markets. Co-hosts Mexico have home advantage to harness on Thursday at the Estadio Azteca and they finalised their preparations for this week’s World Cup curtain raiser with a confidence-building 5-1 demolition job on Serbia just six days ago.
Javier Aguirre’s side purred in attack against the Serbians, clocking 17 attempts while manufacturing 2.26 expected goals, and that was the Mexicans’ third victory on the spin following earlier wins over Australia (1-0) and Ghana (2-0) in late May.
South Africa meanwhile, failed to win any of their World Cup warm-ups, despite facing modest opposition in Panama (twice, 1-1, 1-2), Nicaragua (0-0) and Jamaica (0-1).
With a low-quality squad packed with players from their domestic league, little is expected from this Bafana Bafana outfit, who are competing at their first World Cup since 2002, and they are easy to oppose here.
Recommended bet: Back Mexico to win
Brian Gutierrez (Mexico) to commit over 1.5 fouls
Guadalajara starlet Brian Gutiérrez is an attacking midfielder with promise, though the 22-year-old has a combative streak to match his technical skillset.
Gutiérrez committed a notable 1.76 fouls per 90 minutes for his club in the Liga MX last season, and his two previous campaigns before that with previous employers Chicago Fire (MLS), the winger gave away 1.50 and 1.70 free kicks p/90.
The winger was Mexico’s Man of the Match in their friendly win over Ghana last month, however, alongside sparkling in possession, he showcased his more nefarious streak off the ball, fouling his markers twice. Expect more of the same from Gutiérrez against South Africa.
Recommended bet: Brian Gutierrez (Mexico) to commit over 1.5 fouls
Teboho Mokoena (South Africa) to commit over 1.5 fouls
Sticking with fouls, the next entry in our free bets for Mexico’s meeting with South Africa centres on midfielder Teboho Mokoena.
The Mamelodi Sundowns star has been described as the “glue” that holds his South African side together and the 29-year-old should be heavily involved in all phases of play on Thursday, especially when some graft is required in the midfield skirmish zones.
Mokoena committed fouls in four of his last five appearances for the Sundowns and he played with just as much aggression at the recent AFCON over the winter, giving away 3+ free kicks in three of his four starts in the tournament. Our football bet builder backs the marauding midfielder to commit at least two more fouls against Mexico.
Recommended bet: Teboho Mokoena (South Africa) to commit over 1.5 fouls
Raul Jimenez (Mexico) to score anytime
Any expert betting tips worth their salt for Thursday’s game involving anytime goalscorer selections simply have to centre around Mexican goal-getting icon Raul Jimenez.
The 35-year-old is Mexico’s third-highest scorer of all time with 35 goals and needs to notch only seven more times to surpass Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez as El Tri’s most prolific marksman ever.
Jimenez will hope to chip away at that target this summer and the veteran frontman should have chances to impact the scoresheet against South Africa on Thursday.
Despite his advancing years, Jimenez remains a reliable source of inspiration in the final third for Mexico and the striker has scored ten goals in his last 17 appearances for his country, the latest of which was plundered in that friendly rout against Serbia on June 5th.
Jimenez had six touches in the Serbian box and three shots at goal during his hour on the pitch and he will operate as the focal point again against the South Africans. Back Jimenez to notch again here.
Recommended bet: Raul Jimenez (Mexico) to score anytime
Cesar Montes (Mexico) to commit over 0.5 fouls
Defender Cesar Montes is the very definition of no-nonsense and a glance at his player stats for club and country over the past 12 months shows just how reliable a performer he’s been in the fouls market.
Montes committed a total of 25 fouls in 24 appearances for Lokomotiv Moscow in the Russian Premier League during the 2025/26 club campaign, though his tackling was even sharper when he last represented Mexico competitively.
In last summer’s Gold Cup, which Mexico won, Montes committed seven fouls in five starts, collecting three yellow cards along the way. In fact, he fouled at least once in his final four starts of the tournament.
Montes can struggle to keep a lid on his enthusiasm, so he could be susceptible to a mistimed tackle or two when Mexico contest the first of their World Cup 2026 fixtures in the white-hot atmosphere of the Estadio Azteca. The 29-year-old offers superb value to commit just one foul here.
Recommended bet: Cesar Montes (Mexico) to commit over 0.5 fouls
