Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
- 🏆🇲🇽 El Tri victory sets the tone: Sheinbaum opened her mañanera in high spirits, congratulating the Mexican men’s team not just for the 2-0 win over South Africa but for “the happiness the players gave to the people of Mexico.”
- 🎉 Hundreds of thousands of fans turn out in Mexico City alone: Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez reported 100,000 fans watched the match at the FIFA Fan Festival in Mexico City’s Zócalo and 200,000 more at viewing sites across the capital’s 16 boroughs. Tens of thousands of fans also went to FIFA Fan Festivals in Monterrey and Guadalajara.
- 🎟️ Sheinbaum explains why she skipped the stadium: The president said she decided “from the beginning” not to attend the World Cup opener, choosing instead to give her ticket to the winner of a government-run soccer ball juggling competition that was open to young Mexican women.
- 🪧 Protests noted, but framed as the exception: Sheinbaum briefly acknowledged Thursday’s demonstrations and clashes near the stadium, saying some wanted to “show another image of Mexico.” However, she insisted that “the image of Mexico is happiness.”
- 🎬 Sheinbaum says Salma Hayek appearance was FIFA’s call, not hers: Pushed on why Hayek — not the juggling competition winner — spoke at the opener, Sheinbaum was emphatic: “I didn’t decide that.” She noted that neither Trump nor Carney attended either, and said that FIFA independently selects country representatives for its events.
Why today’s mañanera matters
President Claudia Sheinbaum applauded as she walked into her Friday morning press conference, continuing the acclaim for the Mexican men’s football team, which defeated South Africa 2-0 in the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico City on Thursday.
The opening day of the tournament, and the victory of El Tri, as Mexico’s team is known, were key focuses of today’s mañanera.
Sheinbaum was evidently happy that the first day of the World Cup — which Mexico is co-hosting with the United States and Canada — was a success, despite concerns about protests and security. The second match of the tournament was played in Guadalajara on Thursday night, with South Korea defeating the Czech Republic 2-1.
On Friday morning, Sheinbaum briefly addressed the protests that occurred on Thursday, but she made the overall success of the day — and in particular the Mexican team — her central focus.
Also of note at today’s mañanera were Sheinbaum’s comments about why she decided against attending the World Cup opener, and her remarks on the participation in the event of Mexican actress and film producer Salma Hayek.
Sheinbaum congratulates El Tri
“How are you?” Sheinbaum asked reporters at the start of her mañanera.
“Content, happy,” she said, responding on the press corps’ behalf.
“The truth is it was extremely beautiful, the match was great,” Sheinbaum said.
The president, who watched Thursday’s match at a fan festival in the northern Mexico City borough of Gustavo A. Madero, went on to congratulate El Tri for the victory over Bafana Bafana, as the South African team is known.
She said her congratulations to the Mexican team wasn’t just for how it played on Thursday, but also for “the happiness the players gave to the people of Mexico.”
“… It’s very beautiful to see entire families in green [Mexican team] shirts,” Sheinbaum said.
She noted that people across Mexico watched the match with their families — some at home and others in public parks and squares, including the Zócalo, Mexico City’s main square, where an official FIFA Fan Festival opened on Thursday.
Sheinbaum also acknowledged that people flocked to the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City to celebrate El Tri’s victory.
She subsequently declared that “he or she who bets against Mexico will always do poorly on the pitch, in politics and in life.”
“Those of us who love Mexico do well on the pitch, in life and in politics,” Sheinbaum said, adding that El Tri’s victory on Thursday created “enormous happiness” for the people of Mexico.
Mexicans flock to World Cup fan sites
Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez reported that 100,000 football fans watched Thursday’s match in the Zócalo in Mexico City, while 200,000 people went to other fan sites set up in each of the capital’s 16 boroughs.
She also reported that 50,000 people attended the FIFA Fan Festival in Monterrey, and 38,000 people went to the FIFA Fan Festival in Guadalajara.
She stressed that many other people across Mexico watched the match in public squares, and celebrated El Tri’s victory in the nation’s streets.
“I invite you to continue living this World Cup and this pride of being Mexican,” Rodríguez said.
“I think we all got goosebumps yesterday,” she added.
Later in the press conference, Rodríguez said that more than 2 million tourists are expected to visit Mexico City in June, during which the capital will host four World Cup matches (with a fifth to be played in early July).
“I could say that we’re going to exceed 10 million international visitors in the month of June,” the tourism minister said, offering an optimistic prediction on the number of tourists who will visit Mexico this month.
‘They’re very expensive’: Sheinbaum acknowledges high World Cup ticket prices
Sheinbaum told reporters that “from the beginning” she took the decision that she wouldn’t attend the World Cup opening ceremony and inaugural match at Mexico City Stadium. She noted that she decided to give her ticket to the winner of a government-run soccer ball juggling competition, which was open to young Mexican women.
“The tickets for the stadium are very expensive,” she said, citing prices as high as 120,000 pesos (about US $7,000).
“There are very few people that can pay for a ticket of this amount. By the same token there are people who can and it’s good they went to the stadium [on Thursday],” Sheinbaum said.
“But I believe that, as president, it’s better to give a place to a person who wouldn’t have been able to attend, who loves football, and, in particular, is a young woman,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that her decision to give away her ticket “is related to who we are” and “the vision we have as a government.”
She said that the young woman who won the juggling competition and went to the Mexico City Stadium on Thursday — 21-year-old Yolett Cervantes Cuaquehua of Veracruz — “had a wonderful” time at the match “and represented us very well.”
🏆⚽ De la sierra de Veracruz Yolett Cervantes, joven indígena de 21 años, se convirtió en la ganadora del boleto 001 para la inauguración de la Copa Mundial en el Estadio Ciudad de México, una experiencia que compartió durante la mañanera de la presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum. pic.twitter.com/rJkbEdrjrn
— La Periodista (@LaPeriodista_MX) June 12, 2026
Sheinbaum: ‘The image of Mexico is happiness’
Sheinbaum acknowledged that there were protests on the opening day of the World Cup as well as violent clashes near the Mexico City Stadium between police and members of a so-called “black bloc” of protesters.
“Yesterday, there were people who wanted to show another image of Mexico,” she said.
“But the image of Mexico is happiness, the happiness of the people,” Sheinbaum said.
She also said that by hosting the World Cup opening ceremony and first match, Mexico was able to show off that happiness to the world, and also demonstrate that the country is a “cultural power.”
Sheinbaum: Salma Hayek is ‘a great representative of Mexico’
A reporter asked the president why she decided to make Salma Hayek her representative at the World Cup opener rather than the young woman who won the soccer ball juggling competition and was thus designated as a representative of the government.
“I didn’t decide that,” Sheinbaum said, explaining that Hayek — who gave a welcome address at the stadium on Thursday — was “a guest of FIFA” and not a representative of the president or Mexican government.
“¡Que viva México!”, Salma Hayek da la bienvenida en la Copa del Mundo pic.twitter.com/uU9e3SQBu9
— Noticias de México (@NoticiaMex) June 11, 2026
“Of course, Salma is a great representative of Mexico,” she said.
“All Mexicans love Salma, she has made wonderful movies, she is a great representative [of Mexico] in Hollywood and she is an ambassador of Mexico in the world,” Sheinbaum said.
“… She is a great ambassador, we value her a lot and I think that all Mexicans love her. But in this event, it was an invitation from FIFA,” she said.
The reporter put it to the president that Hayek was invited to attend the World Cup opener and speak because she herself decided not to go.
“No, no, no, no. You’re mistaken,” Sheinbaum said.
“It’s a FIFA event and FIFA decides, within the framework of its events, who the representatives of each of the countries are,” she said.
“It wasn’t a representation of states, of governments. President Trump didn’t go, Prime Minister Carney didn’t go. It was a decision of FIFA about who can represent countries, and Salma Hayek represents Mexico well,” Sheinbaum said.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
