It’s early 2025, and preparations are well underway for next year’s World Cup finals, hosted jointly by Mexico, Canada and the USA. The tournament will be a landmark for Mexico in particular. The country has a fine World Cup heritage, and the 2026 finals will be the third time that they have been a host nation, following on from the memorable tournaments of 1970 and 1986.

At the heart of Mexico’s World Cup heritage is the Estadio Azteca, more commonly known outside of Latin America as the Azteca Stadium. As if to reinforce this, the Azteca Stadium will host the 2026 finals’ opening fixture which will feature Mexico.

The Azteca Stadium is the home of Mexican football. As well as being the national team’s main base, it is also where Mexico’s most successful club – Club América – plays their football, and is the sixth biggest stadium in world football.

The stadium is located in Coyoacán, a borough of Mexico City, and it was built as a principle venue for the 1968 Olympic Games, designed by architects Pedro Ramírez Vázquez – who was best known for the Mexico Pavilion at the World Expo 58 in Brussels, and the building of prefabricated schools in Europe and Asia, while he was also responsible for the design of the Club América crest  – and his regular partner Rafael Mijares Alcérreca. The two had collaborated for a number of years, their first major work being the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in Mexico City, while in 1956 they completed the remarkable market in Coyoacán, which was an innovative exercise in reinforced concrete in the style of inverted umbrellas which mimicked the tents that normally hosted the weekly tianguis. And so when the 1968 Olympic Games were awarded to Mexico, the desire to build the event’s key venue in Coyoacán, meant that Vázquez and Alcérreca were perhaps the obvious choice to lead its development. Ground was broken in 1961, with the stadium completed five years later in 1966. The Azteca stands 7,200 feet above sea level, and on its completion had a capacity of more than 100,000. It is the Latin American Modernist masterpiece.

The stadium was opened on 29 May 1966 with a friendly between Club América and Torino, who had recovered from the 1949 air disaster – which had killed their successful team of the 1940s – to once again become one of Italy’s leading clubs. The two sides played out a 2-2 draw before a crowd of 107,494, with the first two goals scored – both for Club América – by Brazilians Arlindo Dos Santos and José Alves, which was perhaps quite apt given the impact that Brazil were to have in the World Cup in Mexico in 1970.

The stadium’s modern floodlighting system was first used a week later on 5 June for another friendly, this time between Mexican side Club Necaxa and Spanish giants Valencia. Valencia ran out 3-1 winners, but Roberto Martínez netted Club Necaxa’s goal, becoming the first Mexican to score in the Azteca.

Although the Azteca Stadium was built for the 1968 Olympic Games, it was a footballing venue first and foremost, and while it became the long-standing home of Club América, it became most associated with the World Cup, hosting a number of games during Mexico’s two spectacular tournaments in 1970 and 1986.

The 1970 World Cup was lit up by the brilliant Brazilian team that lifted the Jules Rimet Trophy for the third time. It was Pelé’s fourth tournament, and a personal triumph for him; he was named player of the tournament having been kicked out (literally) of the previous two World Cups in England and Chile by some brutal defending. Arguably the two best games of the tournament were held at the Azteca Stadium, the second of which saw a Pelé masterclass.

The first of these was the semi-final between Italy and West Germany – the so-called ‘Game of the Century’, which is commemorated by a bronze plaque outside the stadium – which Italy won 4-3 after extra-time. Remarkably the game was 1-1 after 90 minutes, the five goals scored during the additional half-an-hour setting a World Cup record for the highest number of goals scored during a period of extra-time.

And then came the final.

Both Brazil and Italy had won the World Cup twice: Brazil in 1958 and 1962 and Italy in 1934 and 1938, and so the winners of the 1970 final were to retain the Jules Rimet Trophy permanently. And it was to go back to Brazil following the Seleçaõ’s 4-1 demolition of the Azzurri.

Brazil had sailed through to the final with five straight wins, including a 1-0 win over England that is best remembered for Gordon Banks’ brilliant save from Pelé, scoring 15 goals in the process. Italy’s route was a little more challenging; a 1-0 win over Sweden was followed by goalless draws with Uruguay and Israel. However, they came to life in the knockout stages, beating hosts Mexico 4-1 in the quarter-finals, before that incredible semi-final triumph over West Germany.

Brazil took the lead after 18 minutes when Pelé headed home from a Rivellino cross, but that was undone shortly before the break when Roberto Boninsegna took advantage of some poor defending to draw Italy level. However, that was to be as good as it for the Italians, and in the second half Brazil simply tore them apart. It was all orchestrated by Pelé, who had a huge hand in his team’s third and fourth goals after Gérson had fired them in front. And it was the fourth which is best remembered and is considered to be one of the greatest World Cup goals of all time.

A sleek move that started just outside the Brazilian penalty area with a surging run from Clodoaldo was finished by captain Carlos Alberto who smashed the ball home from a cool, nonchalant pass from Pelé. The move involved seven of Brazil’s outfield players, and summed up both their final and their tournament as a whole. And following the final whistle, Pelé was carried aloft from the field by his celebrating teammates, providing us with one of the most abiding and iconic World Cup images.