FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread

[snipie]

I didn't have to watch the game to know Mexico would win the game. It would have been shocking seeing them losing the game to South Africa, I don't often consider SA a solid team and Mexico are not really bad either and were at Home, being co-host of the world cup.

South Africa is known to be the underdog of this match because Mexico is better and because they are co-hosting the FIFA World Cup.
So gap between these two teams is clear and the stats of the match are telling everything. South Africa qualified for the World Cup from Africa but they were better option than them that failed to qualify.
I i don't know if they could pass the group stage or not in the third place at best. It will depends from the performance of South Korea and especially Czechia.

[7788bitcoin]

i just checked, Ronaldo is 41 and Messi is 38. yeah this might be the last tournament for Ronaldo but i think Messi can make it to one more.

This will be their last World Cup. I am not debating about their fitness and they are taking good care of that. Glad we were able to witness their greatness in our lifetime. I have heard about legendary players like Johan Cruyff, Ferenc Puskás and Franz Beckenbauer, but I have never had the opportunity to view their performance live.

Ronaldo and Messi are the modern goats and it is a pleasure to watch them live.

As expected, Mexico won the match, but the match saw three send offs which is unprecedented for an inaugural World Cup match.

[Joca97]

Mexico won the opening match 2-0 to comfortably secure all three points. For the first time ever, a World Cup opening match saw three red cards brandished—two for South Africa and one for Mexico—though I wouldn't say it was a dirty game. The late red card for Mexico was completely unnecessary, but the South African player was driving dangerously into the box and drew the foul from the Mexican defender.

I watched the match – the first half, to be honest – and I have to say that there have been far more interesting and, above all, more exciting matches in the past.
I’d say Mexico deserved the three points, as they were the team that put in the most effort and their technical ability was clearly superior.

I didn't have to watch the game to know Mexico would win the game. It would have been shocking seeing them losing the game to South Africa, I don't often consider SA a solid team and Mexico are not really bad either and were at Home, being co-host of the world cup.

South Africa is a disgraceful country, how is it possible that they have to loose with two red card, my question is how did they qualify for the World Cup in the expense of Nigeria, Nigeria is also a disgraceful country, they should be playing in this World Cup and from what they’re playing, they’re supposed to be in the World Cup, South Africa is a disgrace to Africa, and Nigeria who are supposed to be here is also a disgrace to African.

Mexico is a superior team to Africa, I have been watching a spectacular team play from Mexico, and the awareness of football isn’t in Africa, Morocco is the only team that I’m watching perfectly, and I have seen them as a team that will even go very far in the World Cup.

I honestly dont understand how South Africa even qualified for the World cup. I didnt follow them in the qualifcations thankfully but this is just bad,just ruined everything for me tonight. I o most quited the game after the first half of watching how this was really a bad game. I dont understand also how you get two red card in the world cup opener also they didnt create a single chance in a match. Even in the first half when they were losing they didnt want to attack. I honestly dont understand the point of their tactic in this game.

On the other hand i think i never seen three red card in a single match in the world cup. Really some crazy stuff,but honestly i hope the games get better after this because this was really bad.

[BALIK]

Mexico won the opening match 2-0 to comfortably secure all three points. For the first time ever, a World Cup opening match saw three red cards brandished—two for South Africa and one for Mexico—though I wouldn't say it was a dirty game. The late red card for Mexico was completely unnecessary, but the South African player was driving dangerously into the box and drew the foul from the Mexican defender.

Three red card at once in the opening match!! In fact this incident made the entire game monotonous and chaotic

However what I have noticed is that at least two red cards were very clear. One was a foul that stopped a sure chance of scoring. Yeah, I am talking about the first red card given to South African player Sphephelo Sithole. This was nothing but a DOGSO.

Anyway, on World Cup referees have been a little more strict to keep the player over controll right from the start, which is actually a good move in one direction.

[MK-74]

The first match of the World Cup has been played and one of the host nations, Mexico defeated South Africa 2–0.
There were three red cards in the match: two for South Africa and one for Mexico in the closing minutes.
Mexico, who were the better side throughout the game, deservedly won and picked up their first three points of the tournament.
South Africa suffered defeat as a result of their poor performance.

[$weetne$$]

Here is a record Mexico just set by winning todays game, this happens to be their 8 undefeated world cup opening game, since 1998 they have stayed unbeaten in all their world cup opening games and this happens to be their second time meeting south Africa in an opening game and never lost against south Africa, three points now for Mexico, such a great start for them and I believe  they are getting pass group stage and I believe  they will do even better moving forward.

[ene1980]

It was a really great game by Mexico in the first half. Saw a mandatory hydration break for the first time in football. Looks like, football is finding new opportunity to advertise during those slots.  

The second half was chaotic. First red card for South Africa within the first 5 minutes of the second half and got another red card in the later stages. Mexcian captain César Montes also got a red card during the final minutes of the match.

[Lida93]

Mexico won the opening match 2-0 to comfortably secure all three points. For the first time ever, a World Cup opening match saw three red cards brandished—two for South Africa and one for Mexico—though I wouldn't say it was a dirty game. The late red card for Mexico was completely unnecessary, but the South African player was driving dangerously into the box and drew the foul from the Mexican defender.

Three red card at once in the opening match!! In fact this incident made the entire game monotonous and chaotic

However what I have noticed is that at least two red cards were very clear. One was a foul that stopped a sure chance of scoring. Yeah, I am talking about the first red card given to South African player Sphephelo Sithole. This was nothing but a DOGSO.

Anyway, on World Cup referees have been a little more strict to keep the player over controll right from the start, which is actually a good move in one direction.

Am an African and to be honest mate, South Africa were just disgraceful in this their first game of the tournament, the players were just on the ball like amateurs and were better at picking red and yellow card than trying to control the game to show some discipline against the Mexicans.
All the cards issued by the referee were justly given and deserving to the both sides, just never seen a Cup Cup opener game with this number of red cards and lesser goals margin. Hope to watch more interesting games on the day two

[Crypto_Timothy]

The first match of the world cup was certainly interesting, an opening match that had more red cards than goals ( 3 red cards to 2 goals) plus like several other yellow cards that were picked up.

Probably it was the pressure but right off the bat south Africa was already making mistakes which led to the first goal, Mexico did have alot chances to increase the scoreline especially before the second half but they missed chances. Overall I would say Mexico did play a better ball than South Africa and hence the match ending 2 - 0

[HajiBagi]

The first match of the World Cup has been played and one of the host nations, Mexico defeated South Africa 2–0.
There were three red cards in the match: two for South Africa and one for Mexico in the closing minutes.
Mexico, who were the better side throughout the game, deservedly won and picked up their first three points of the tournament.
South Africa suffered defeat as a result of their poor performance.

South Africa is the reason why they lost to Mexico tonight, just imagine their first game and they make some silly mistakes and receive two red cards, Mexico shows that they are ready for this World Cup and winning this game is very important for them because they have already got a point in the group stage and that is going help them even if they lose their next game against any top opponent, winning the first game is very important for every country but South Africa decided to play as they wish. Many people will think that the referee is too harsh by giving red cards but the referee made a good decision and also give Mexico player a deserve red card.

[Oluwa-btc]

South Africa is known to be the underdog of this match because Mexico is better and because they are co-hosting the FIFA World Cup.
So gap between these two teams is clear and the stats of the match are telling everything. South Africa qualified for the World Cup from Africa but they were better option than them that failed to qualify.
I i don't know if they could pass the group stage or not in the third place at best. It will depends from the performance of South Korea and especially Czechia.

Czech Republic and Mexico should be the most likely top finishers of their group.
We all from Africa today was so eager to see South Africa losing woefully and it eventually happened that way. I hope to see them finally getting knocked out completely.
As for South Korea and Czech-republic, we should most likely see goals scored by the both sides during this game.

[Amphenomenon]

I honestly dont understand how South Africa even qualified for the World cup. I didnt follow them in the qualifcations thankfully but this is just bad,just ruined everything for me tonight. I o most quited the game after the first half of watching how this was really a bad game. I dont understand also how you get two red card in the world cup opener also they didnt create a single chance in a match. Even in the first half when they were losing they didnt want to attack. I honestly dont understand the point of their tactic in this game.

On the other hand i think i never seen three red card in a single match in the world cup. Really some crazy stuff,but honestly i hope the games get better after this because this was really bad.

I don't really consider this as disgraceful, seeing them getting two red cards, after all they don't usually play decent games especially during the world cup qualifiers or AFCON.

Seeing three red cards is not wow for me, SA are not decent in football and I also don't entirely consider Mexico and other American teams to be, maybe I the fact that their style might be depending on the style of play their opponents opt for while they can also be having an aggressive style of play.

[Onyeeze]

Today World Cup opening was very interesting because of the performance or the both team and also Mexico I predicted 3 weeks ago that Mexico is going to win the match against South Africa many people couldn't agree with me because they believe that South Africa can equalize or make the game draw between Mexico and the South Africa, so I Began to lose hope that Mexico will not defeat South Africa from the beginning of the match Mexico scored first goal in the first half that is where I knew that they will are going to defeat a South Africa after the bragging of South Africa in internet so I am happy today because of Mexico performance

[JiiBs]

The first match of the World Cup has been played and one of the host nations, Mexico defeated South Africa 2–0.
There were three red cards in the match: two for South Africa and one for Mexico in the closing minutes.
Mexico, who were the better side throughout the game, deservedly won and picked up their first three points of the tournament.
South Africa suffered defeat as a result of their poor performance.

Mexico played a good game, they were out for goals and lost way too many chances that they could have put the ball safely in the net. They had at least 2 balls hit the post, a couple of saves and their goals came off an obvious error especially in the first instance where the defense failed to clear the ball. South Africa was yet to wake up to the fact that, they were at the World Cup and was playing against a host nation that was more eager to start well with their first game and that would mean, not having to loss and at the very least, win which is precisely what they did.

[AYOBA]

Holy shit, South Africa got another red card, they are really bad, Mexico scored 2 goals and South Africa got 2 red cards, good combination. But the way South Africa lost the match, it is really shamefull for them, they lost their first match of the World Cup in a very bad way. The match is almost over, maybe 4-5 minutes left, Mexico won the match with a very good performance, hopefully they will perform as well in their next match 19 jun against South Korea.

I’m very disappointed on South Africa performances against Mexico because i wasn’t expected that kind of poor performance from them, imagine that South Africa who give Nigeria tough time the last time they meet but find it very difficult to defeat Mexico they can not even score single goal whereby they still collect two red cards joined only them with doing pain. That’s why I said that the World Cup is very hard to make predictions about them, because the teams that nobody will expected them to win will later bring out a positive result; which what happened today between South Africa and Mexico everyone where hope for South African, but unfortunately they failed to win the games.

[criptoevangelista]

You can never write off a legend like Cristiano Ronaldo. He might not be at peak fitness given his age, but with one clinical play or a spark of genius, he can easily flip a match on its head. Over here, everyone is hyping up Portugal to win the World Cup this year, it’s actually become a massive meme online. I’m not sure what the logic is, but it would honestly be pretty cool to see CR7 lift that trophy with Portugal.

I have been a fan of Ronaldo's hard work and resilience, but I think it's a big ask for him to lift this coming World Cup trophy, especially given the fact that Portugal has never won it before. He is also way past his prime, and I don't see anyone serious taking up command in Portugal.

Anyway, time will tell soon.

I sincerely doubt Portugal is going to lift the World Cup trophy either. This is far from being their best lineup, to me, their peak was back in the early 2000s with Figo, Rui Costa, and all those superstars. But hey, if Portugal actually pulls it off, it would be legendary for Cristiano. Retiring with 1,000 goals and a World Cup title under his belt would be going out in absolute style.

[BIT-BENDER]

You can never write off a legend like Cristiano Ronaldo. He might not be at peak fitness given his age, but with one clinical play or a spark of genius, he can easily flip a match on its head. Over here, everyone is hyping up Portugal to win the World Cup this year, it’s actually become a massive meme online. I’m not sure what the logic is, but it would honestly be pretty cool to see CR7 lift that trophy with Portugal.

I have been a fan of Ronaldo's hard work and resilience, but I think it's a big ask for him to lift this coming World Cup trophy, especially given the fact that Portugal has never won it before. He is also way past his prime, and I don't see anyone serious taking up command in Portugal.

Anyway, time will tell soon.

I sincerely doubt Portugal is going to lift the World Cup trophy either. This is far from being their best lineup, to me, their peak was back in the early 2000s with Figo, Rui Costa, and all those superstars. But hey, if Portugal actually pulls it off, it would be legendary for Cristiano. Retiring with 1,000 goals and a World Cup title under his belt would be going out in absolute style.

But Portugal can, this is by far their best line up in history, Rui Costa and Figo is the only names you can mention to lay your claims when this current Portugal team has Nuno Mendes, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Vitinha, Cancelo and many more brilliant players.
The only team in this world as complete is france.
No era of Portugal has seen this much talent in almost every position.

[Barcode_]

What a strange extraordinary way to kick start the 2026 World Cup with 3 red cards being shown in the first opening match, it seems that South Africa would easily end up at the bottom of the table in Group A as their overall team performance are pretty weak and unconvincing after their first match. Looking at the astounding atmosphere at Estadio Banorte stadium in Mexico city, I would say the local Mexico football fans are truly coming out in full support for their national team and I guess Mexico could easily top Group A with the strength of their squad and also with the constant cheering support from the Mexico fans inside the stadium.

[Smartvirus]

I don't really consider this as disgraceful, seeing them getting two red cards, after all they don't usually play decent games especially during the world cup qualifiers or AFCON.

Oh wow! Common man, that be that sarcastic!

Anyway, both the red cards that was awarded to South Africa was very much deserved, though the first red was  more from a soft touch but, looking at the situation and the fact that it stopped an obvious goal, FIFA rules had to come into play and the red card was awarded.

In the case of the second red card, that was some dirty football. I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t end with the red card but some actual punishment was dished out. I mean, he slapped him on the face purposely.

Mexico however got their first win in the World Cup from an opening match and didn’t get to concede any goal, that’s a good way to start.

[Agbamoni]

South Africa couldn't score Mexico in a game of 90 minutes on the big stage. I always knew Nigeria should have been the best team to be at that stage from the group. Unfortunately they couldn't because of bad politics. However most Africans supported Mexico today and tbey are the honest so it's good that they showed their country fans what it means for them to be at the world cup. Mexico now have all points after the first game. Hopefully they will qualify from this round.