South Africa face 85,000 roaring Mexicans in World Cup opener at Azteca

South Africa coach Hugo Broos has a simple message for his players ahead of Thursday's World Cup opener against co-hosts Mexico: don't listen to the noise.

Not the noise of the game. The noise of 85,000 Mexicans.

"There will be a big crowd and there won't be so much South African support," Broos said at his pre-match press conference. "So that's a big help for them (Mexico). They'll have 85,000 Mexicans shouting and singing. But we have to focus on our game. And if we can do that, if we aren't too influenced by the noise of 85,000 Mexicans, then we can have a good game."

Broos knows what he's talking about. The 74-year-old Belgian played in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico as a member of the Red Devils. His first game that year? Against the hosts at the same Estadio Azteca.

Now he's back, but this time as coach of Bafana Bafana. And he knows the task is massive.

Broos believes Mexico are the team to beat in Group A. "I think they've won nearly all of their last 10 games," he said of "El Tri". "So they'll be a team with confidence…they're the best team in the group. So tomorrow it'll be a very tough game. We need to be at our best level, but I can assure you our team is ready to fight for every metre and every ball."

"We need to be at our best level, but I can assure you our team is ready to fight for every metre and every ball."

Mexico coach Javier Aguirre is also drawing on history — but a different kind. His team has played in seven World Cup opening matches and never won one. That statistic, he says, is extra motivation.

"We have to break the statistic," Aguirre said. "I didn't know that fact; I'm going to share it with the players. It'll be another source of motivation."

Aguirre, 67, will experience a home World Cup as a coach 40 years after playing in one as a player. "Since I arrived 22 months ago, I haven't had any greater emotion than experiencing a World Cup at home again," he said.

But Broos isn't a fan of the expanded 48-team tournament. He says the travel schedule is gruelling — South Africa will also play in Atlanta and Monterrey if they advance. "It's a bit too big when you play with 48 countries," he said. "Forty years ago it was a World Cup in Mexico, but now it's modern times, and we have to adapt. It's more exhausting than the previous World Cup, when you are with less countries but we have to accept it."

For South Africa, this is a pivotal game. A good result against the group favourites could set them up for a shot at the knockout stage. But first, they have to survive the Azteca.