Gilberto Mora FIFA Men's World Cup Mexico WC - Mexico vs. South Africa - 06/11/2026 FIFA World Cup NOW

South Korea came from behind to defeat Czech Republic 2-1 as substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu scored the winning goal in the 80th minute of their World Cup opener. Son Heung-min and company had dominated the game against the Czechs,

Mexico's dire performance at the last World Cup in Qatar served as a wake-up call for this year's event. The message was clear: El Tri needed new players if it wanted a different ending on home soil in 2026.

Mexican striker Raúl Jiménez dedicated his emotional first World Cup goal to his late father to power his side to beat South Africa in the World Cup opener.

With a capacity crowd of 80,824 watching at the iconic Azteca Stadium, co-host Mexico started the largest World Cup tournament in history by getting goals in each half while three red cards were shown — two for South Africa and one for Mexico.

It may have been before the opening ceremony, when legendary Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa took the field for a moment of reflection, only to find the stadium already full of fans who sang his name.