Mexico ends opening-day World Cup curse as South Korea complete comeback on Day 1

Mexico ended a long-standing opening-day curse at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Thursday, defeating South Africa 2-0 at Mexico City Stadium to record their first-ever victory in a World Cup opener. South Korea also recovered from a deficit to beat Czechia in the day’s second match.

Mexico 2-0 South Africa

Prior to Thursday’s fixture, Mexico had never won an opening-day World Cup match, carrying a record of 0W-2D-5L. That unwanted streak is now over, and El Tri remain unbeaten at Mexico City Stadium in World Cup football, improving to 6W-2D-0L all-time at the venue.

The match was historic for less flattering reasons too. Three red cards were issued across the 90 minutes — the first time any World Cup opening match has seen three dismissals, and the most in a single World Cup game since Croatia vs Australia in 2006. For context, the entire 2022 World Cup produced just four red cards in total.

Raúl Jiménez finally broke his World Cup duck, scoring his first goal in the competition after 12 years of international football. The strike takes him to 46 goals for Mexico, drawing level with Jared Borgetti for second place in the national team’s all-time scoring charts, behind only Javier Hernández’s record of 52. The goal was set up by Roberto Alvarado, whose precisely weighted left-footed cross to the far post left Jiménez with a straightforward finish past goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.

There was also a milestone for teenager Gilberto, who became Mexico’s youngest-ever World Cup player at 17 years and 240 days old, and the youngest Concacaf player to appear in a World Cup match, surpassing fellow Mexican Manuel Rosas, who was 18 when he featured in the 1930 tournament.

South Korea 2-1 Czechia

South Korea came from a goal down to beat Czechia and record their eighth all-time World Cup victory — seven of which have now come against UEFA opposition.

Czechia opened the scoring from a set piece, continuing a pattern that saw them net 10 of their 26 qualifying goals from dead-ball situations. It was also their first World Cup goal since June 12, 2006 — almost exactly 19 years to the day.

South Korea’s turnaround was driven by Hwang In-Beom, who became the first South Korean player to both score and provide an assist in the same World Cup game since 1994, and only the third to achieve the feat since 1986. His contribution ended Czechia’s six-match unbeaten run, which had stood at 4W-2D-0L heading into the tournament.