The FIFA World Cup 2026 has got off to a thrilling start. In the very first match of this edition, South Africa took on co-host Mexico, and Mexico made a superb beginning to their campaign by beating the South African side 2-0. In the second match, South Korea and Czechia faced each other, where the Korean team registered a 2-1 win. On the opening day, South Korea and Mexico thus launched their campaigns with victories, while Czechia and South Africa had to endure defeats.
Not a Single Goal in the First Half
Talking about the match played between South Korea and Czechia, both teams produced an excellent display in the first half, but neither side managed to score by the time the half ended. However, the second half saw a total of three goals, and it was South Korea who came out on top. Czechia struck their first goal in the 59th minute to take a 1-0 lead over South Korea. The goal for Czechia was scored by Ladislav Krejci.
Even so, South Korea refused to give up, and Hwang In-beom scored in the 67th minute to bring the team level at 1-1. After that, Oh Hyeon-gyu netted a second goal in the 80th minute to give South Korea a 2-1 lead. Czechia were unable to close the gap right up to the end and had to face defeat. In the closing stages, Czechia kept applying pressure and even got a few chances, but the South Korean goalkeeper put in a brilliant effort to deny two goals. Czechia did not lose heart even in the added minutes, yet they failed to breach South Korea's solid defence.
Three Red Cards Shown in the Mexico vs South Africa Clash
In the first and opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2026, hosts Mexico made a winning start by defeating South Africa 2-0. In this contest played at the Mexico City Stadium, the Mexican side dominated from the outset. In the 9th minute of the game, Julian Quinones scored the first goal to put Mexico 1-0 ahead. In the 17th minute of the first half a South African player was shown a yellow card, and in the 49th minute of the second half Sphephelo Sithole was sent off with a straight red card for illegally stopping an opposing player. After this, South Africa had to play with just 10 men.
In the 67th minute of the second half, Raul Jimenez scored a second goal to extend Mexico's lead to 2-0. In the 84th minute of the match, after reviewing a video replay, another African player, Themba Zwane, was shown a red card, leaving the team with only 9 players. In the dying moments of the match, in injury time (90+2 minutes), Mexico's player Cesar Montes was also given a red card for a foul, though it had no bearing on the result. In the end, Mexico won the contest 2-0 to make a winning start to the tournament.
