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

[BluebloodCXVI]

I was bored during the first World Cup game. I didn't bet on them; I wanted South Africa to win, but I didn't like the way Mexico won. It was all mistakes. Mexico might advance to the next round, but they already have three points awarded by South Africa. There was a moment when I liked how Mexico played, but it faded. It hasn't changed my opinion of Mexico; they were lacking in many ways, and reading the comments here, many people agree.

It seems to me that you’re trying to make excuses for the South African players. Do you think that if Mexico didn’t play well they would have won?. Mexico was obviously the better team yesterday, the stats are there and that is why they won 2:0. I believe that mistakes are what wins most games, so it is now up to whoever notices the mistakes first to capitalize on it. I’m happy Mexico won though, South-Korea also just won 2:1 so they are now 3points on the table, same with Mexico. The match I’m really looking forward to watching is Brazil vs Morocco tomorrow, I think it’s gonna be an interesting match.

[Jatiluhung]

An epic comeback from South Korea!

I know that South Korea dominated the match, but in the 59th minute Czech Republic took the lead with the first goal of the match, luckily not long after that goal South Korea also started scoring goals. Hwang In-beom became the MVP (MoTM) in the match for making 1 goal & 1 assist, congrats to South Korea, the first 3 points from the Asian side.

Betting on South Korea certainly didn’t disappoint at all, as they won this match. After all, South Korea has always been a team whose strength is a force to be reckoned with in nearly every World Cup. This team, much like Japan, has always been a source of pride for Asia.

However, I have to be honest that South Korea’s playing style is a bit boring. They really want to score a beautiful goal. They sometimes miss good opportunities because they pass the ball around too much in front of the opponent’s goal. But their patient playing style has indeed proven to yield good results, and the two goals they scored were truly high-quality and quite beautiful. It’s just that watching their matches requires patience as well.

[Cryptoprincess101]

As expected South Korea should dominate the game and from the first half play we can all see that they are the better side, had few clear chances to score but it was played wide by son I hope they do better when they return in the second 45mins. Czech Republic aren’t confident enough to hold the ball, they seem to be shaky and the South Korea teams is capitalizing on them by dominating the midfield and throwing passes in between Czech Republic players. The First half might have ended 0:0, but I hope the score line changes in the second 45mins. South Korea should easily pick their first win from this game as they are the better side from what I’ve seen.

South Korea is the most dominant team from Asia, and they haven't failed to appear in the World Cup since 1986 so i had no doubt in them winning Czech Republic. they finished 2:1 at fulltime after Czech Republic tried to threaten South Korea by scoring the first goal but Hwang In-Beom was quick to get an equalizer in less than 10 minutes after they conceded while Oh Hyeon-Gyu gave South Korea 3 points when he scored at 80 minutes. The second half was more entertaining than the first half. The two world cup matches that played so far produced winning results, Mexico earlier won South Africa by 2:0.

[Uhwuchukwu53]

It is a nice idea to organize the World Cup in different countries. But in terms of transport, it is not optimal for the players. You will always have to travel up and down, which is not great for your preparation. And the distances between these countries can also be considerable. Mexico and a World Cup, we've already experienced that once before in 1986. I thought everything had gone pretty well then. It surprises me a little that they organize the World Cup, since America is not really a football country at all. At least, football is not among the 3 most popular sports. Maybe not even in the top 5.

Your totally correct about this emphasis, the cost of moving from one location to another wasn't properly consider in my view that align with your thoughts, but in order way round I see the planners considering one vital aspect of their decision to diversify the income of the hosting of this world cup to another countries economy in such a way that the income aimed at host can be gain through those that will travel to those area and ticket in watching etc as many will because this very match travel to those locations as well may see new thing that may seen to be a business opportunity and secondly if this countries attached on their own can't host the world cup it's only the opportunity of them becoming a partaker of world cup hosting never to be left behind in this regard, that is my consideration line if thought but totally agree with you.

[Livingleged]

BTW, to all European and African members here, how does it feel watching football from midnight until dawn? Living in Southeast Asia feels like a privilege these days

You want to know how it feels? It’s crazy bro, I had to sacrifice my precious sleep at around 3am at my country time to watch the South Korea vs Czech Republic match, if not for the love of football no one could that sleep from me. However the match was interesting and I enjoyed watching it, the time is not really convenient for us watch from Africa. But it’s was worth it and I look forward top favorite match I’m not missing any of those matches even if I have to sacrifice my precious sleep at around at that time.

[KTChampions]

An epic comeback from South Korea!

I know that South Korea dominated the match, but in the 59th minute Czech Republic took the lead with the first goal of the match, luckily not long after that goal South Korea also started scoring goals. Hwang In-beom became the MVP (MoTM) in the match for making 1 goal & 1 assist, congrats to South Korea, the first 3 points from the Asian side.

It didn't seem to me that Korea dominated (only in possession of the ball, but in modern football this means nothing), they had the advantage but the result could have gone either way. But nevertheless, they earned 3 points and in the next game they meet Mexico, which also has 3 points, it turns out that if there is a winner in this pair, then they will take 1st place in the group ahead of schedule. The Czech Republic vs. South Africa game will also be decisive in terms of who will retain their chances of finishing second or making it into the lucky eight losers.

[EarnOnVictor]

What a historic moment for the 2026 FIFA World Cup opening match; this has never happened before, and 3 red cards in that second half was surprising. I could stylishly agree with the South African side, as they are the defeated ones and might be under tension somehow. But what about César Montes with his shameful tackling of Khuliso Mudau at that crucial time?

The match was almost over and you've been leading with 2 goals already, so what could possibly go wrong to warrant your ousting out with a red card? That baffles me actually with the reasoning faculty of some people.

Anyway, nice one from Mexican team, and thanks for not ruining tickets.

[m4r1o]

Another challenge is for the coach himself, who will certainly find it harder to decide on the starting lineup. But based on what we've seen in the Nations League, this team doesn't seem to have any issues. All the players look to be in sync on the field. I have high hopes for this team. not just because of Cristiano Ronaldo, but also because some of their star players are among my personal favorites.

yes this year portugal really has a very competitive team, i must say that they really have a great chance of winning, at least of going very far in the world cup, they also did well to immediately bring in joao felix who is always a very underrated player.

[ibuddy122505]

As expected South Korea should dominate the game and from the first half play we can all see that they are the better side, had few clear chances to score but it was played wide by son I hope they do better when they return in the second 45mins. Czech Republic aren’t confident enough to hold the ball, they seem to be shaky and the South Korea teams is capitalizing on them by dominating the midfield and throwing passes in between Czech Republic players. The First half might have ended 0:0, but I hope the score line changes in the second 45mins. South Korea should easily pick their first win from this game as they are the better side from what I’ve seen.

South Korea is the most dominant team from Asia, and they haven't failed to appear in the World Cup since 1986 so i had no doubt in them winning Czech Republic. they finished 2:1 at fulltime after Czech Republic tried to threaten South Korea by scoring the first goal but Hwang In-Beom was quick to get an equalizer in less than 10 minutes after they conceded while Oh Hyeon-Gyu gave South Korea 3 points when he scored at 80 minutes. The second half was more entertaining than the first half. The two world cup matches that played so far produced winning results, Mexico earlier won South Africa by 2:0.

A great match indeed. South Korea played better, kept possession, created more chances, and deserved the win. Czech Republic looked like they were still jet lagged. They scored first, but South Korea showed strong determination and teamwork, finishing the game 2-1. I believe South Korea and Mexico will advance from this group. I'm confident South Korea will make a deep run in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

[MAAManda]

However, I have to be honest that South Korea’s playing style is a bit boring. They really want to score a beautiful goal. They sometimes miss good opportunities because they pass the ball around too much in front of the opponent’s goal. But their patient playing style has indeed proven to yield good results, and the two goals they scored were truly high-quality and quite beautiful. It’s just that watching their matches requires patience as well.

They don't want to waste their opportunities, so they make sure that every shot is worth taking. Based on the odds I've seen, the bookies are projecting that this match has a high chance of being a draw, with both teams each having odds of more than @2,00. For the casual viewer, this match was boring, but for the bettors, it was a thrilling match.

It didn't seem to me that Korea dominated (only in possession of the ball, but in modern football this means nothing), they had the advantage but the result could have gone either way. But nevertheless, they earned 3 points and in the next game they meet Mexico, which also has 3 points, it turns out that if there is a winner in this pair, then they will take 1st place in the group ahead of schedule.

Image Source: Rollbit

Well, we can say that the next match for Mexico & South Korea is a deciding match. Whichever team wins will have a comfortable 6 points lead in the group. Since Mexico is one of the hosts, they're favored to win this match. Personally, I don't think Mexico can win easily, they'll be facing a strong Asian team, not South Africa, who haven't even scored a single goal so far.

[blomen]

south korea became the first team to make a comeback in the second match of the world cup. the first half ended 0-0, and after the czech republic scored in the second half, south korea responded quickly. with the score tied at 1-1, striker hyun-gyu oh, who plays for beşiktaş in turkey, came on as a substitute for heung-min son and scored a goal just a few minutes later.

with that, the first matches in group a have been played, and currently, mexico and south korea are the favorites to advance from the group. we can say that the favorites won in both matches.

[Barikui1]

BTW, to all European and African members here, how does it feel watching football from midnight until dawn? Living in Southeast Asia feels like a privilege these days

You want to know how it feels? It’s crazy bro, I had to sacrifice my precious sleep at around 3am at my country time to watch the South Korea vs Czech Republic match, if not for the love of football no one could that sleep from me. However the match was interesting and I enjoyed watching it, the time is not really convenient for us watch from Africa. But it’s was worth it and I look forward top favorite match I’m not missing any of those matches even if I have to sacrifice my precious sleep at around at that time.

Kudos to you bro, I wanted to, but when I thought of the hectic day ahead of me, I think that I will regret waking up by that time to seek for an entertainment, all in the name of football. I did watch the south Africa vs Mexico game since it was played by 9pm Nigerian time, but waking up by 3am was really a big problem to me , especially when it's not my country playing.

I believe that before the end of the world cup, I might wake up in the middle of the night to watch some of the games that I think is going to be really interesting, but this south Korea game vs Czech Republic is not too appealing for me to deprive myself of my precious sleeping hour.

[asriloni]

After seeing the match between Mexico and South Africa, I think there is no chance for South Africa to advance to the next round with that boring play. South Africa didn't show any determination at all. On the other hand, Mexico played really well. Fast play and fluid.

The other 2 teams, South Korea really dominated the match today, but Czech Republic was also very effective from set pieces. Most of their set pieces were very dangerous in South Korea's penalty box. They even scored from a long-throw set piece.

Is it too early to say that Mexico and South Korea are the 2 teams that will qualify for the next round from Group A?

South Africa has never been favored to finish at the top of their group. Their gameplay is not in the same level as Mexico and South Korea. Other than that it's not too early to say Mexico and South Korea will be going to the further stage. Those nations are the strongest in this group. No doubt they will always dominate Czech and South Africa.

Even the odds already spilled us the result from group A. Mexico may finish at the number one, while South Korea at the 2nd. I think the FIFA rank is clearly telling us the result from this group.

1.04 for Mexico and 1.06 for South Korea. We know those nations are the winner from this group.

[Roseline492]

The only way Mexico didn't play well is by not using the big opportunities they had, the red card should have been a way of tearing apart the defense of South Africa but they were busy dressing the ball to get a beautiful goal but they forget that this is the World Cup and when opportunities like this comes you have to take it and make good use of it. D

Yes between Mexico and South Africa the chance came many times for Mexico but there first score was an opportunity a players wouldn't miss much because South African defense caused it and not there goalkeeper that gave him the ball because it wasn't necessary for him to hold the ball that way considering opponents around him. The referee was not merciful to Mexico and South Africans because the red cad was to much and even commentator was even saying a yellow card but red card was flashed instead and South Africa got two while Mexico had one and if it was me the Mexico could have been yellow due to the unserious touch.

[len01]

Well, we can say that the next match for Mexico & South Korea is a deciding match. Whichever team wins will have a comfortable 6 points lead in the group. Since Mexico is one of the hosts, they're favored to win this match. Personally, I don't think Mexico can win easily, they'll be facing a strong Asian team, not South Africa, who haven't even scored a single goal so far.

Looking at the current squad conditions, Mexico does have the edge, especially since they're playing at home. I also share your view that even if Mexico eventually wins, South Korea will definitely put up a fight.

If I had to choose the most comfortable betting option, it would probably be BTTS. However, I haven't checked the odds for that market yet, and if they're too low, I might consider taking Mexico -0.5 instead.

My main hope is that the match doesn't end in a draw.

[alankasman]

...

Yes between Mexico and South Africa the chance came many times for Mexico but there first score was an opportunity a players wouldn't miss much because South African defense caused it and not there goalkeeper that gave him the ball because it wasn't necessary for him to hold the ball that way considering opponents around him. The referee was not merciful to Mexico and South Africans because the red cad was to much and even commentator was even saying a yellow card but red card was flashed instead and South Africa got two while Mexico had one and if it was me the Mexico could have been yellow due to the unserious touch.

The opening match of this World Cup was clearly quite intense. Statistically the score was 60% versus 40%, meaning both teams attacked each other from the first half until the end. It's natural that the referee had to issue three red cards in that match due to the intense match between the hosts and South Africa even though the final score was a win for Mexico. The referee's performance in the match was quite balanced and impartial so it's crucial that the referee consistently performs his or her duties effectively in making every decision. The fiercest part of the match lies in the referee's decisions and any mistakes would be a source of unpleasant criticism for them including from supporters of both sides. However this didn't happen because the decision was made perfectly correctly. Those who received red cards should learn to be more careful in their play to avoid harming their respective teams.

Mexico had the advantage of playing in front of their home crowd so the motivation provided by their fans made the players reluctant to accept defeat in their first match. Furthermore they were significantly behind South Africa in the standings. In my opinion it was quite natural for the hosts to win the match with a comfortable 2-0 score giving their fans who filled the stadium their first victory.

[changaa]

I believe that anyone who talks like this about Ronaldo doesn't really know who he is, this is definitely an opinion that leaves no room for anything, but once again the return will happen on the pitch as always he will prove to be the best, and he could even win the cup given that he has a very strong team playing with him.

his contribution can be not only that of the pitch where he can obviously still have his say, but also on a mental level, he will be a real leader of the team, he will have the possibility of taking the team to the top and ensuring that these youngsters are on the pitch for the last time led by Cristiano Ronaldo.

[emrecemsan]

The World Cup has started... I really loved the opening ceremony. Shakira's show was really nice to watch. By the way they say she was her stunt performer but I don't know. 

As for the matches, Mexico just did what was expected. But I thought South Africa would show a little passion. Great work by South Korea! They came back from 0-1. I think they are a serious threat to Mexico in that group.

[kennycryptoitalia]

I'm also expecting more goals from Mexico. We see them as strong contenders in this group. The other teams in the group are Korea and Czech Republic. South Africa will probably finish last in this group because they don't seem fully prepared for the World Cup. We can say that both Korea and Czech Republic are strong teams. It's considered one of the groups where every team is evenly matched.

seeing a level of matches of this kind makes us understand that the level is not the same all over the world and this is the proof, i repeat, the level was really embarrassing, seeing 3 expulsions in the same match in both teams is something truly shameful in an inaugural match of such an important tournament.

[Cyber_warrior]

The World Cup has started... I really loved the opening ceremony. Shakira's show was really nice to watch. By the way they say she was her stunt performer but I don't know. 

As for the matches, Mexico just did what was expected. But I thought South Africa would show a little passion. Great work by South Korea! They came back from 0-1. I think they are a serious threat to Mexico in that group.

It was a good opening ceremony, well since it was shakira it was very much expected, She never fails to deliver at world stages, sometimes I just feel maybe it was She is made for. A very good and enjoyable performance from her.

Very disappointing performance from South Africa, they lack passion, I don’t even see the commitment in their game yesterday, it like they don’t even want to play or they didn’t planned for the World Cup, no tactical approach from the players. For me I see them going out of the group already.

Very amazing performance from South Korea, to be able to come from behind against a team like Czech Republic is really a big deal. They played well, created chances and converted them too. I’m really impressed by them.