A red-card-heavy start in Mexico City and a sharp South Korean response in Guadalajara gave the expanded tournament an immediate jolt before Canada stepped onto the stage.
The 2026 World Cup began with exactly the kind of disorder and quality that makes a larger tournament feel unpredictable. Two Group A matches launched the 39-day, 104-game event across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and both games showed how little margin there may be for error once the full field settles in. For Canada, still waiting for its first kick, opening day offered a clear reminder of how quickly a World Cup can turn.
A wild start in Mexico City
Mexico opened the tournament at the Estadio Azteca in front of a crowd of more than 80,000, with the ceremony helped along by Shakira and the band Maná. The match against South Africa quickly became the kind of opener that people will remember for its noise as much as its scoreline.
Mexico struck first in the ninth minute when Erik Lira took advantage of a South African mistake in buildup play, then Julián Quiñones finished calmly through Ronwen Williams. The home side doubled its emotional lift later through Raúl Jiménez, whose header brought him his first World Cup goal and carried extra weight because of the severe skull fracture he suffered in 2020. His reaction told the story better than any replay could.
The day’s defining image, though, came from the referee’s notebook. Wilton Sampaio showed three red cards, the most ever in a World Cup opener and the first match in the competition to produce three dismissals in twenty years. South Africa lost Sphephelo Sithole before halftime and Themba Zwane after a video review caught an incident involving Roberto Alvarado. Mexico then saw César Montes sent off late for stopping a breakaway. All three players are suspended for the next group match.
Mexico’s 2-0 win mattered beyond the points. It was Javier Aguirre’s first victory in a World Cup opener as Mexico manager, and it came with 17-year-old Gilberto Mora playing a central role in midfield. The hosts looked organized, composed, and far more convincing than they have in many recent tournament outings.
South Korea answer with a comeback
The second match in Guadalajara offered a different kind of drama. South Korea, ranked 25th in the world, fell behind Czechia before recovering to win 2-1 at Estadio Akron, where the atmosphere never fully filled out but the tension was clear.
Czechia went ahead in the 59th minute through captain Ladislav Krejčí, who rose highest to meet a long throw and head in a goal built on the same set-piece strength that carried the team through qualifying. South Korea then produced the move of the day. Lee Kang-in found Hwang In-beom, who used a clever feint to open space before placing his shot into the corner. The goal came after a 25-pass sequence, one of the longest build-ups to a World Cup goal on record.
The match still had another twist. Tomáš Souček briefly thought he had restored Czechia’s lead in the 77th minute, but the flag went up for offside and the review confirmed it. Three minutes later, South Korea punished the miss. Substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu, who later said a 38-degree fever had made his availability uncertain, finished Hwang’s low cross for the winner. Kim Seung-gyu then protected the result with a late diving save.
South Korea ended with more shots, more control, and a stronger sense of momentum than Czechia. Son Heung-min also added another milestone, becoming one of only two players to appear for his country at four different World Cups, alongside coach Hong Myung-bo.
Canada now gets its turn
After Thursday’s results, Mexico and South Korea sit level on three points atop Group A, with Mexico ahead on goal difference. South Africa and Czechia both face immediate pressure to respond, especially with suspensions and selection issues already shaping the next round.
For Canada, the opening day served as a preview rather than a launch. The national team opens on Friday at a sold-out BMO Field in Toronto against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first men’s World Cup match ever played on Canadian soil. Jesse Marsch’s squad is grouped with Bosnia, Qatar, and Switzerland, and its remaining group games will be played at BC Place in Vancouver. After watching two co-hosts and two determined opponents make their statements, Canada will want a statement of its own in front of a home crowd that has waited a long time for this moment.
If the first day proved anything, it is that this tournament will not settle into a predictable rhythm. It already delivered three red cards, a tearful finish, a feverish match-winner, and a 25-pass team move before Canada even began. That is a strong opening act for a World Cup that now belongs, at least in part, to the hosts.
