A wild start in Mexico City and a sharp South Korean rally in Guadalajara gave the expanded tournament an instant storyline before the hosts in red finally stepped into the spotlight.
The biggest World Cup ever did not spend much time easing into itself. On Thursday, two Group A matches launched a 39-day, 104-game event spread across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and both contests delivered the kind of sharp contrasts that make a tournament with 48 teams feel unpredictable from the first whistle. For Canadian supporters, the day served as both a preview of the scale ahead and a reminder that nothing in this edition is likely to unfold in a straight line.
A night that began with fireworks in Mexico City
The opening ceremony at Estadio Azteca matched the occasion, with more than 80,000 fans filling the stadium and Shakira alongside rock band Maná helping set the tone. What followed was a match that moved quickly from ceremonial to chaotic, as Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in a game that mixed historic milestones with extraordinary discipline problems.
Mexico struck first in the ninth minute after Erik Lira pounced on a mistake from a South African defender trying to play out under pressure. Julián Quiñones then slipped the ball through Ronwen Williams’ legs for the tournament’s first goal. The second goal carried greater emotional weight. Raúl Jiménez, whose career has included a frightening skull fracture in a 2020 collision at Wolverhampton, rose to head in his first World Cup goal and broke into tears as he celebrated.
The match will also be remembered for its rare level of punishment. Wilton Sampaio of Brazil issued three red cards, the most ever in a World Cup opener and the first match at the tournament to feature three dismissals in 20 years. South Africa lost Sphephelo Sithole before halftime and Themba Zwane after a video review caught him making contact with Roberto Alvarado’s face. Late on, Mexico’s César Montes was sent off for pulling back a South African runner on a break. Each player will now miss the next group match.
Mexico’s victory was important for another reason: it was the first time the country had won a World Cup opener after five defeats and two draws. Javier Aguirre’s team also leaned heavily on 17-year-old midfielder Gilberto Mora, a sign that the hosts are willing to trust youth as well as experience. The result was clean, controlled, and far more convincing than many of Mexico’s recent World Cup outings.
| Match | Final Score | Standout Moment | Discipline Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico vs. South Africa | 2-0 | Jiménez scoring his first World Cup goal | Three red cards, a World Cup opener record |
| South Korea vs. Czechia | 2-1 | Late winner after a 25-pass equalizer | One offside call erased a Czech goal |
South Korea show patience, then punish mistakes
The second Group A game in Guadalajara could not have felt more different. South Korea, ranked 25th in the world, had to come from behind against 38th-ranked Czechia in front of a stadium that never fully filled, but the performance still carried the sense of a team with genuine knockout-round ambition.
The first half produced very little of note, and both sides were booed off at the interval. Czechia broke the deadlock in the 59th minute through captain Ladislav Krejčí, who rose to meet a long throw and finished in the kind of direct style that had served his team well in qualifying. South Korea did not panic. Eight minutes later, Lee Kang-in found Hwang In-beom, who used a clever feint to shake off two defenders and the goalkeeper before placing the equalizer in the corner. The move contained 25 passes, one of the longest buildup sequences ever recorded for a World Cup goal.
The decisive moment arrived after another burst of tension. Tomáš Souček appeared to have restored Czechia’s lead in the 77th minute, but the offside flag, later confirmed on review, denied the goal. Three minutes after that, South Korea made the most of the reprieve. Substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu, who later said a 38-degree fever had made him doubt whether he would even play, finished Hwang’s low cross for the winner. Kim Seung-gyu then protected the lead with a strong late save.
By the final whistle, South Korea had outshot Czechia 15-8 and looked every bit like a team capable of causing problems for more established contenders. Son Heung-min also reached another notable milestone, becoming only the second player to represent South Korea at four World Cups, alongside head coach Hong Myung-bo.
Canada now steps into a larger stage
After two games, Mexico and South Korea sit level on three points, with the hosts ahead only on goal difference. South Africa and Czechia, meanwhile, face immediate pressure to recover, both because of the standings and because the opening matches exposed issues that will need quick correction.
For Canada, Thursday’s action served as the long prelude to its own debut. The national team opens 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 team will complete its group schedule at BC Place in Vancouver, where it will also face Qatar and Switzerland in Group B. The atmosphere in Toronto is expected to be intense, partly because the entire country has waited decades for this moment and partly because the tournament has already shown how quickly pressure can build.
If the first day says anything about the weeks ahead, it is that this World Cup will reward teams that can stay calm inside the noise. Mexico endured history in the form of goals, tears, and red cards. South Korea answered an early setback with patience and execution. Canada, watching from the edge of its own debut, now inherits a tournament that has already begun to feel as volatile as it is grand.