MEXICO CITY (AP) — Azteca Stadium will reopen in March when Mexico hosts Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo in a friendly match ahead of the 2026 World Cup, the Mexican soccer federation confirmed Tuesday.
The iconic stadium, closed since May of last year for renovations, will host five World Cup matches, including the opener on June 11.
Azteca, recently renamed Banorte Stadium, will become the first venue in history to host a third World Cup opening match. Mexico, which staged the World Cup in 1970 and 1986, is co-hosting next summer's tournament with the United States and Canada.
The match against Portugal will take place on March 28. Mexico also announced a warmup game against Belgium to be played three days later at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Coach Javier Aguirre said after a 2-1 loss to Paraguay in November that he wanted to play two matches with players from the local league in Central America in January, but the Mexican federation has yet confirmed them.
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Workers renovate Azteca Stadium, which will host the opening game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in Mexico City, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
The Azteca Stadium, which will host the opening game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, sits in Mexico City during renovations, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
LONDON (AP) — Almost three dozen countries will meet Thursday in an effort to exert diplomatic and political pressure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route that has been choked off by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the virtual meeting chaired by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper “will assess all viable diplomatic and political measures we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and to resume the movement of vital commodities.”
Iranian attacks on commercial ships, and the threat of more, have halted nearly all traffic in the waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the rest of the globe’s oceans, shutting a critical path for the world’s flow of oil and sending petroleum prices soaring.
The U.S. is not among the countries attending Thursday's meeting. Trump has said securing the waterway is not America’s job, and told U.S. allies to “go get your own oil.”
No country appears willing to try and open the strait by force while fighting rages and Iran can target vessels with anti-ship missiles, drones, attack craft and mines. But Starmer said Wednesday that military planners from an unspecified number of countries will meet soon to work on how to ensure security for shipping “after the fighting has stopped.”
In the meantime, 35 countries including the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and the United Arab Emirates have signed a statement demanding Iran stop its attempts to block the strait and pledging to “contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage” through the waterway.
Thursday’s meeting is considered a first step, to be followed by “working-level meetings” of officials to hammer out details.
Starmer said resuming shipping “will not be easy,” and will require “a united front of military strength and diplomatic activity” alongside partnership with the maritime industry.
The international effort idea has echoes of the international “coalition of the willing” that has been assembled, led by the U.K. and France, to underpin Ukraine’s security after a future ceasefire in that war. The coalition is, in part, an attempt to demonstrate to the Trump administration that Europe is stepping up to do more for its own security.
The urgency of stronger continental defenses has been reinforced by Trump’s renewed suggestion that the U.S. could pull out of NATO.
Britain's Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, second right, attends a virtual summit at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London, on Thursday April 2, 2026, with around 35 countries to discuss ways of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper speaks during a virtual summit at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London, on Thursday April 2, 2026, with around 35 countries to discuss ways of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, center, speaks during a virtual summit at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London, on Thursday April 2, 2026, with around 35 countries to discuss ways of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, right, attends a virtual summit at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London, on Thursday April 2, 2026, with around 35 countries to discuss ways of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference at Downing Street in London, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference at Downing Street in London, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)
