The 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the United States, Mexico, and Canada as hosts, kicked off this Thursday (11).
The opening match ended with Mexico beating South Africa 2-0 at the iconic Azteca Stadium.
Besides the goals by Quiñones and Jiménez, the one who drew a lot of attention in the World Cup opener was Brazilian referee Wilton Pereira Sampaio.
The Brazilian was even labeled on social media as the main character of the match for his "hat-trick" of red cards right in the tournament’s first game.
Later, in the late-night slot, South Korea came from behind to beat Czechia 2-1 in Guadalajara, Mexico, also in Group A.
Back at the World Cup after 20 years, the Czechs opened the scoring with Coufal’s throw-in assist and Krejci’s firm header from close range.
But Hwang In-Beom scored a brilliant goal right after, dribbling past a defender and delicately chipping the goalkeeper to level the match.
Czechia even scored a second through Soucek, with a header, but the goal was ruled out for offside when the free kick was delivered into the box.
However, soon after, Hwang In-Beom received a beautiful pass down the right and crossed into the area for Oh Hyeon-Gyu to seal the comeback with a first-time finish.
By scoring the equalizer and the winner in 13 minutes, South Korea recorded the second-fastest comeback in its World Cup history.
In 2010, in South Africa, the Koreans came from behind against Nigeria in 11 minutes. In fact, that World Cup was also the last time South Korea won its opening match.
Before all that happened, the biggest highlight of the "flat" first half was Czechia’s beautiful jersey being ripped by South Korean Lee Han-Beom.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup features 48 national teams divided into 12 groups of four.
The first stage runs until June 27, when the 32 teams that qualified for the round of 32 will be confirmed.
According to the rules, in addition to the teams finishing first and second in each group, the eight best third-placed teams also advance to the knockout stage.
The 16 round-of-32 matches will take place between June 28 and July 3.
The round of 16 will be played between July 4 and 7, with the quarterfinals taking place between July 9 and 11.
With the semifinals set for July 14 and 15, the World Cup final is scheduled for Sunday, July 19, in New Jersey, at 4 p.m. (Brasília time).
📅 Check out Friday’s (12) World Cup matches
- 4 p.m. (Brasília time) - Canada vs Bosnia - Group B
- 10 p.m. (Brasília time) - United States vs Paraguay - Group D
📊 See the Group A standings
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
