A wild first day delivered red cards, a comeback, and a clear warning that the 2026 World Cup will not wait for anyone. Canada’s first match now feels even bigger.
The biggest World Cup ever opened with the kind of disorder that makes the tournament feel instantly alive. Two Group A matches launched a 39-day, 104-game event spread across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and both games showed how unpredictable a 48-team field can be. For Canadian supporters, the first day was not just entertainment; it was a preview of the pressure, pace, and drama waiting just ahead.
Mexico set the tone in a night of extremes
The tournament began at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, where a huge crowd filled the stadium for a celebration that included Shakira and the rock band Maná. The atmosphere was festive, but the match between Mexico and South Africa quickly turned sharp and chaotic.
Mexico struck first in the ninth minute after Erik Lira pressed a defender into a mistake, allowing Julián Quiñones to slide the ball through Ronwen Williams’ legs for the opening goal of the tournament. Later, Raúl Jiménez added a moment that carried deep personal weight. After his severe skull fracture in 2020 while playing for Wolverhampton, he rose to head in Mexico’s second goal and left the field in tears after scoring his first World Cup goal.
The match will be remembered most for discipline problems, though. Referee Wilton Sampaio issued three red cards, which made it the most dismissal-heavy World Cup opener ever and the first match in two decades to feature that many send-offs. South Africa lost Sphephelo Sithole before halftime and Themba Zwane in the second half, with Zwane dismissed after video review caught him striking Roberto Alvarado in the face. Mexico’s César Montes was then sent off late for stopping a South African breakaway. All three players will miss the next group match.
For Mexico, the result brought more than just three points. Javier Aguirre’s team finally won a World Cup opener after five defeats and two draws in previous attempts, and it did so with 17-year-old Gilberto Mora playing an important role in midfield. The 2-0 result, backed by a clean sheet, gave the hosts a strong start and a rare sense of control on the tournament’s opening night.
South Korea answer with composure and bite
If Mexico-South Africa was defined by disruption, the second Group A match in Guadalajara was about patience and recovery. South Korea trailed Czechia before turning the game around for a 2-1 victory at a partially full Estadio Akron.
The first half did little to settle either side, and both sets of fans made their frustration clear. Czechia went ahead in the 59th minute when captain Ladislav Krejčí attacked a long throw and headed in the opener, continuing the team’s reliance on set pieces from qualifying. South Korea responded with the best move of the day. Lee Kang-in threaded a pass into Hwang In-beom, who used a sharp feint to freeze two defenders and the goalkeeper before placing the equalizer into the corner. The buildup included 25 passes, one of the longest sequences ever leading to a World Cup goal.
The match still had one more twist. Tomáš Souček appeared to have restored Czechia’s lead in the 77th minute, but the offside flag, later confirmed on review, erased the goal. Three minutes afterward, South Korea made the most of the opening. Substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu, who said a 38-degree fever had nearly ruled him out, finished Hwang’s low cross to score the winner. Kim Seung-gyu protected the result with a diving stop deep in stoppage time.
South Korea ended with 15 shots to Czechia’s eight and looked far more dangerous once the match opened up. The victory also added another line to Son Heung-min’s World Cup story, since he is now one of only two players to appear in four different tournaments for South Korea, alongside head coach Hong Myung-bo.
What the first day means for Canada
The opening results left Mexico and South Korea level on three points, with the hosts leading Group A only on goal difference. South Africa and Czechia now face immediate pressure, along with the added burden of suspensions and lineup questions.
- Mexico earned a landmark opening win and looked settled after the first half-hour.
- South Korea showed resilience, creativity, and late-game control.
- South Africa and Czechia both leave opening day needing a fast reset.
- The tournament already has a red-card trend, a comeback story, and a few looming selection issues.
For Canada, Thursday was only the opening act. The national team begins its own campaign on Friday at a sold-out BMO Field in Toronto against Bosnia and Herzegovina, marking the first men’s World Cup match ever played on Canadian soil. Jesse Marsch’s squad is in Group B with Bosnia, Qatar, and Switzerland, and its remaining group matches will be played at BC Place in Vancouver. After watching co-hosts and global contenders set the pace, Canada now gets its own chance to shape the story.
- The home crowd in Toronto will be the loudest Canadian stage in generations.
- The opener will test how well Canada handles the weight of expectation.
- Opening day showed that this tournament is likely to reward teams that stay calm under pressure.
The first day made one point unmistakable: this World Cup is going to be fast, volatile, and unforgiving. Three red cards, a tearful striker, a fever-hit substitute winner, and a 25-pass equalizer all arrived before Canada touched the ball, and that is a difficult standard for the rest of the tournament to match.
