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

[IceLincoln]

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.

Yeah indeed South Korea and Japan are the pride of Asia and they always give a good impression on the World Cup stage. Good the South Koreans are already 3 points up and I’m sure they’ll win the battle of the Souths too. I love the fact they’re playing as a team, everyone is contributing.
The Mexico vs South Africa wasn’t the kind of opening match I expected but it was something atleast the drama.
I see the two teams at the top of the top of the group A going into the next round.

[Koal-84]

What a surprise for me yesterday with Korea’s victory over the Czech Republic. I really did not expect that at all.

In the match involving Mexico, I would have rather predicted a draw, but South Africa was simply too weak to achieve that. Nevertheless, Mexico was clearly the favorite in that matchup anyway, so the final result was not particularly surprising in the end.

[Dunamisx]

Regarding the Mexico and South Africa match, I already knew that Mexico was going to win the match because I didn't expect them to allow a record like that to be beaten so easily. However, football cannot be predicted in some aspects when it comes to who is going to defeat the other, but with their performance, Mexico really shows that they deserve to win against South Africa and that is what they truly achieved.

[Swordsoffreedom]

What a surprise for me yesterday with Korea’s victory over the Czech Republic. I really did not expect that at all.

I bet on Korea to win. I am happy because I won both bets on the first day. But after Czechia scored the first goal of the match, I gave up hope of winning the bet. I thought the match would be a draw or Czechia would win this match. But South Korea scored two goals in a row in the 67th and 80th minutes. South Korea played well in this match and they definitely deserved to win.

In the match involving Mexico, I would have rather predicted a draw, but South Africa was simply too weak to achieve that. Nevertheless, Mexico was clearly the favorite in that matchup anyway, so the final result was not particularly surprising in the end.

I thought we would see a  competitive match. But from the beginning of the match we saw the dominance of the Mexican players. They played  well from the beginning of the match and tried to dominate the match. The South african players were  under pressure throughout the match. South africa could not  attack as strongly. In this  match we saw the dominance of mexico. It seems that the host mexico is in a great rhythm in this world cup.

[Majestic-milf]

There are already big differences between the players of the two teams. Mexico has more experienced players, while South Africa has slightly less quality players. We feel this in the game as well. Mexico seems to be having a comfortable match and may continue to do so in the second half. South Africa, on the other hand, can do nothing but defend and try to score.

Honestly, it was an embarrassing display from Hugo Broos boys. It's being a while that I've seen South Africa get shut up by another team, cause ordinarily it's a difficult thing for South Africa to play a full 90 minutes without recording a significant thing in the game, the only record South Africa was able to break was getting two red cards in the game and letting their frustrations show so bad that it made it easy for Mexico to break their defenses.

[Shussainshah]

Regarding the Mexico and South Africa match, I already knew that Mexico was going to win the match because I didn't expect them to allow a record like that to be beaten so easily. However, football cannot be predicted in some aspects when it comes to who is going to defeat the other, but with their performance, Mexico really shows that they deserve to win against South Africa and that is what they truly achieved.

A Good and Comfortable win For Mexico.  2:0 is good victory to start a worldcup and I think we can say south Africa is so poor in the first match maybe they can stay sharp in the 2nd match but there probability are very much low . In the 90 minutes match they only shot on target are only 1 shot that's was so poor I think south Africa need a better squad for the next match I know there is whole darma 3 red card in the opening matchs it's was not look good because in the last worldcup in the whole 64 group stage matches they only 4 red card in whole 64 matches but that's the last part overall south Africa was not good in this whole 90 minute match

[Sim_card]

What a surprise for me yesterday with Korea’s victory over the Czech Republic. I really did not expect that at all.

It was a beautiful come back for S.Korea in the second half as the supersub gave them the winning goal on four minutes before full time. Honestly, there will be a lot of surprises in this ongoing world cup because every player wants to make name for themselves and also win the trophy for their country. S.Africa was too weak for their host yesterday.

[Roseline492]

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

As the statistics of there attacks are different that is actually how Mexico with more statistics attacked South Africa. I noticed that you might have been thinking that I was not happy with the referee because of those card I mentioned but actually saying it doesn't mean that the referee was officiating against any country but however it was the unusual red card I was implying because it was the first match of the world Cup and we have not seen this kind card in the first match before. Also there is no difference the match could have made if it was in South Africa that hosted Mexico because it would have still been a pure defeat to South Africa.

[paco92x]

What a surprise for me yesterday with Korea’s victory over the Czech Republic. I really did not expect that at all.

It was a beautiful come back for S.Korea in the second half as the supersub gave them the winning goal on four minutes before full time. Honestly, there will be a lot of surprises in this ongoing world cup because every player wants to make name for themselves and also win the trophy for their country. S.Africa was too weak for their host yesterday.

South Korea, for me, deserved the win. They were the better team and tried to play some football rather than the defensive block that was in front of Kovář. It's also worth mentioning that the second match was miles better than the first one.

But we must also mention that the Czechs will be a menace when they have a corner or a throw-in somewhere near the goal. Almost every cross inside the box was a threat, but for me, in the World Cup, even against someone weak, it will not be enough.

[Inwestour]

What a surprise for me yesterday with Korea’s victory over the Czech Republic. I really did not expect that at all.

It was a beautiful come back for S.Korea in the second half as the supersub gave them the winning goal on four minutes before full time. Honestly, there will be a lot of surprises in this ongoing world cup because every player wants to make name for themselves and also win the trophy for their country. S.Africa was too weak for their host yesterday.

Mexico played a good match and won as expected. Overall, they outplayed South Africa in every aspect of the game. It is quite clear that South Africa will be the underdog of this group. As for the Czech Republic, I expected a better performance from them and thought they would not lose. Although, if their second goal had been allowed, the match could have ended in a 2–2 draw, instead, South Korea secured the victory. For me, this is the first unexpected result because I considered the Czech Republic, and still do, to be quite a strong team.

[Warkop]

What a surprise for me yesterday with Korea’s victory over the Czech Republic. I really did not expect that at all.

It was a beautiful come back for S.Korea in the second half as the supersub gave them the winning goal on four minutes before full time. Honestly, there will be a lot of surprises in this ongoing world cup because every player wants to make name for themselves and also win the trophy for their country. S.Africa was too weak for their host yesterday.

It is clear that South Korea's mental game is far above the Czech Republic, even though they were behind, they were able to come back in the second half, in accordance with what I said that teams from Asian countries have quality players compared to European players, plus many of them play in big clubs and they are all spread across top leagues such as Serie A, English League, La Liga, Bundesliga, French League.

So I am not surprised by the final result of the match that it will be a surprise in this year's world cup.

[Accardo]

In the match involving Mexico, I would have rather predicted a draw, but South Africa was simply too weak to achieve that. Nevertheless, Mexico was clearly the favorite in that matchup anyway, so the final result was not particularly surprising in the end.

Why would a team, in their first world cup encounter decide to play a defensive game, South Africa didn't do much, despite realizing how unrealizable the Mexican Goalie is, they didn't make use of the loophole in this regards, and kept on falling back over little counter, the Mexican strikers took advantage of that, by disassembling the South African weak defense, and creating scoring opportunities. The game would have turned out a draw but South Africa was not fit enough to equalize.

[Unsoldier]

In the match involving Mexico, I would have rather predicted a draw, but South Africa was simply too weak to achieve that. Nevertheless, Mexico was clearly the favorite in that matchup anyway, so the final result was not particularly surprising in the end.

Why would a team, in their first world cup encounter decide to play a defensive game, South Africa didn't do much, despite realizing how unrealizable the Mexican Goalie is, they didn't make use of the loophole in this regards, and kept on falling back over little counter, the Mexican strikers took advantage of that, by disassembling the South African weak defense, and creating scoring opportunities. The game would have turned out a draw but South Africa was not fit enough to equalize.

Perhaps the South Africa team was rattled by the way the Mexico fans rallied behind their squad, especially since they were playing on home soil. Before kickoff, a Mexican singer performed the national anthem while a helicopter carrying a massive Mexican flag flew over the stadium. I don't think the South Africa players were prepared for that level of hostile support, and it must have had a massive demoralizing effect on them. Ultimately, these factors may have prevented them from performing at their absolute best in the match.

[babo]

In the match involving Mexico, I would have rather predicted a draw, but South Africa was simply too weak to achieve that. Nevertheless, Mexico was clearly the favorite in that matchup anyway, so the final result was not particularly surprising in the end.

Why would a team, in their first world cup encounter decide to play a defensive game, South Africa didn't do much, despite realizing how unrealizable the Mexican Goalie is, they didn't make use of the loophole in this regards, and kept on falling back over little counter, the Mexican strikers took advantage of that, by disassembling the South African weak defense, and creating scoring opportunities. The game would have turned out a draw but South Africa was not fit enough to equalize.

In my opinion, he also suffers from inexperience, which in my opinion does a lot
after all, it's his first world cup, I wouldn't be too rude to them
They have already qualified and this is a victory
There are teams with more history that haven't managed to do it (see Italy... how sad)..

[banana33]

It would be particularly ironic if the US-Israeli war against Iran were to escalate again with the start of the World Cup.

yes, i think it's a very business question, that's for sure, having the chance to have a football match played at their home is a very important event, even if they don't understand much about football, it's obvious that the more money they spend the better it will be for them, we'll also see if they can organize it as best as possible without too many problems.

[liasbaa]

Regarding the Mexico and South Africa match, I already knew that Mexico was going to win the match because I didn't expect them to allow a record like that to be beaten so easily. However, football cannot be predicted in some aspects when it comes to who is going to defeat the other, but with their performance, Mexico really shows that they deserve to win against South Africa and that is what they truly achieved.

Mexico played great but I expected South Africa to win but they didn't perform well. I was prepared to enjoy the match in the opening match of the World Cup but I didn't expect such a poor performance from the South Africa team. I thought they would be able to at least put up a significant resistance in the match but the team was not impressive and could not fight against Mexico. Due to repeated aggressive play, 2 players left the field with red cards. I had doubts about the victory so I refrained from betting. Now I understand that my decision was right.

[JahriMeayer]

Mexico showed strong and sharp performance against their opponent South Africa in this first World Cup match and they gained victory  through better discipline, solid defense and skilled attacks. Even From the beginning, Mexico looked organized, keeping their defensive line compact and didn't allow much space for attacks. South Africa gave their best effort and tried enough to build pressure through counterattacks but lack of discipline and their mistakes failed their strategy. Mexico was more effective in attack and used their chances effectively against South Africa’s defense. The opening goal came from a maxico at 9th minutes by Julian Quinones kept their opponent in pressure with confusion, while the second goal by R. Jimenez reflected good teamwork in the field. Afterwards Mexico stayed calm under pressure and focused to limit South Africa’s shots on target. And didn't allow South Africa to scored any single goal. That was brilliant strategy, Overall mexico deserved the win.

[blue Snow]

I think Mexico didn't play that good either. They missed too many opportunities of scoring goals. What happened is that South Africa played quite poorly, even compared to some clubs from the national championship from my country. It's hard to believe that a national team with that level of performance has reached the World Cup, or maybe, it's just that there are too many national teams participating this edition of the global championship.

Watching South Africa’s play last night, I found myself wondering how a team with such a disorganised style of play could have qualified for the World Cup. The South African players, particularly in the first half, made so many passing errors. As well as losing 2–0 to Mexico, South Africa also received two red cards. In my view, if South Africa continue to play like this, they are likely to finish bottom of the group with no points.

[$crypto$]

I think Mexico didn't play that good either. They missed too many opportunities of scoring goals. What happened is that South Africa played quite poorly, even compared to some clubs from the national championship from my country. It's hard to believe that a national team with that level of performance has reached the World Cup, or maybe, it's just that there are too many national teams participating this edition of the global championship.

Watching South Africa’s play last night, I found myself wondering how a team with such a disorganised style of play could have qualified for the World Cup. The South African players, particularly in the first half, made so many passing errors. As well as losing 2–0 to Mexico, South Africa also received two red cards. In my view, if South Africa continue to play like this, they are likely to finish bottom of the group with no points.

That's a bad game South Africa played last night, I didn't expect them to play a lot of mistakes to lead to goals from these blunders, actually Mexico is also not very good in attack it's just that South Africa is not playing solidly, try to imagine the two red cards they got? It's like a game out of control right?

[BlackBoss_]

Watching South Africa’s play last night, I found myself wondering how a team with such a disorganised style of play could have qualified for the World Cup. The South African players, particularly in the first half, made so many passing errors. As well as losing 2–0 to Mexico, South Africa also received two red cards. In my view, if South Africa continue to play like this, they are likely to finish bottom of the group with no points.

South Africa had a defeat, two red cards that will affect their player resource for next matches and likely affect their ending in this group too. If in a next match, they can not win it, even a draw will not be enough, they will face with very possible ending rank at a bottom of group A. Only a win in a second match can help South Africa improving their rank and chance for a chance of moving to round of 16.

A defeat in a second match means they will have to finish this World Cup very early, while a draw can give some hope if they win a last match in this group but with their performance quality as shown, I am really doubtful that they will succeed in two remaining matches.