Why isn’t Edson Alvarez playing for Mexico in 2026 World Cup opening game against South Africa?

Mexico and South Africa are set to clash on Thursday, June 11, to kick off the 2026 World Cup in front of a raucous, sellout crowd at the iconic Estadio Azteca. When the starting lineups were unveiled an hour before kickoff, eyebrows were immediately raised across North America as superstar midfielder Edson Alvarez was noticeably absent from El Tri’s starting XI.

Alvarez has been left out of the lineup against South Africa due to a purely tactical decision by manager Javier Aguirre. While the West Ham standout has fully recovered from a recent ankle injury, a lack of game fitness and competitive minutes ahead of the tournament prompted the head coach to opt for other options to open the tournament.

Against South Africa, Erik Lira will anchor the spine of the midfield in Alvarez’s place, while center-back Cesar Montes will assume leadership duties on the pitch, wearing the captain’s armband. Nevertheless, expectations remain high that the veteran midfielder will come off the bench to see some action in the second half, a strategy Aguirre mirrored during the team’s pre-World Cup warm-up friendlies.

Alvarez’s ankle injury, a constant concern throughout the 2025-26 season

Despite his status as the anchor of the engine room and captain of the Mexican national team, Edson Alvarez’s right ankle has turned into a major obstacle on his road to top fitness for the World Cup. His problems began to compound in early 2026, to the point that he was limited to just a handful of appearances for Fenerbahçe during the calendar year.

In mid-February, in order to resolve his recurrent discomfort and save his World Cup dream, Alvarez underwent corrective surgery on his ankle. The midfielder finally made his long-awaited return to the pitch nearly three months later on May 2 against Istanbul Basaksehir, where he was eased into action for just a single minute.

Forgoing any post-season vacation, Alvarez immediately flew to Mexico to join Aguirre’s training camp in mid-May to focus entirely on his rehabilitation. He gradually built up his match fitness by featuring in all three of Mexico’s pre-World Cup international friendlies leading up to the tournament.

He was subbed on at halftime during the clash against Ghana on May 22, logged 60 crucial minutes as a starter in a 1-0 victory over Australia, and completed his warm-up cycle by coming off the bench in the second half of a 5-1 rout against Serbia.