World Cup Match Day 1: Mexico-South Africa, South Korea-Czechia Kick Off Tournament

At long last, the 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway. All eyes will be on Thursday’s opening slate as tournament co-host Mexico faces a lot of pressure after an unsuccessful 2022 campaign in Qatar that saw it get knocked out in the group stage. “El Tri” will open against South Africa at Mexico City Stadium, which will become the first venue to host games at three different men’s World Cup tournaments. The nightcap will be at Guadalajara Stadium, where South Korea will take on a Czechia team making its first World Cup appearance since 2006. Here’s what you need to know about Thursday’s matches: How to Watch Following Mexico’s embarrassing suspension from the 1990 World Cup, “El Tri” advanced out of the group stages in the next seven World Cups. That run was snapped in Qatar four years ago when the team finished with four points but finished behind runners-up Poland on goal differential in Group C. Mexico playing at home is a different story. The furthest that Mexico has ever gone in the World Cup was to the quarterfinals in 1970 and 1986, which coincidentally are the two times it has hosted the tournament. The center of it all is the newly renovated Mexico City Stadium, which is one of the sport’s all-time great venues. It is not just where Mexico has been its most successful, but it’s also where Pele and Diego Maradona were crowned World Cup champions. The pressure facing Mexico, currently 14th in the FIFA World Rankings, to win at least one game in the knockout rounds is immense. Javier Aguirre will coach Mexico for this third time in the World Cup after leading the team in 2002 and 2010 where they lost to the United States and Argentina, respectively, in the Round of 16. He currently has the Mexican team playing great soccer as “El Tri” has not lost in eight games in 2026. That run includes impressive draws against Belgium and Portugal in March, and a 1-0 win over Australia and a 5-1 win over Serbia in its two recent tune-up friendlies. In 2025, Mexico swept through the CONCACAF competitions, winning the Nations League and the Gold Cup. Awaiting Mexico on Thursday will be South Africa, in a game that mirrors the opening game of the 2010 World Cup when Bafana Bafan hosted “El Tri” in a 1-1 draw in Johannesburg. South Africa enters this game as the underdog. Currently 60th in the FIFA World Rankings, South Africa has never advanced to the knockout stages of the World Cup. Bafana Bafana’s only three appearances in the tournament ended in the group stage in 1998, 2002, and 2010 as hosts. South Africa qualified for the World Cup by winning Group C of the CAF qualifying tournament. This achievement was even more impressive given that South Africa was penalized for fielding an ineligible player in a 2-0 win over Lesotho. As a result, Lesotho were awarded a 3-0 win. But South Africa still finished one point above Nigeria to top the group for automatic qualification. Coached by Belgian Hugo Broos, South Africa enters this game playing poorly. Earlier in the year, its African Cup of Nations run ended unconvincingly in the Round of 16. In the March friendlies, the team drew and lost in two games against Panama. The tune-up friendlies saw the team play only marginally better with a 0-0 draw against Nicaragua followed by a 1-0 win over Jamaica. Player to Watch The Chicago native and former U.S. youth international has been a great pickup for Mexico since wooing him away from its northern rivals at the end of 2025. The Chivas midfielder has appeared in seven games for “El Tri” in 2026 and has immediately made himself important to Aguirre’s plans. In those seven games, Mexico has not lost and Gutierrez has two goals along with an assist. In the final tune-up last week, Mexico defeated Serbia 5-1 and Gutierrez was arguably the best player in the field, assisting on Mexico’s first goal. Now, Gutierrez will likely be tasked with helping to control the midfield in the World Cup opener. How to Watch South Korea will open its 11th consecutive World Cup appearance on Tuesday night at Guadalajara Stadium when the Taegeuk Warriors take on Czechia, who will be making its first appearance at the World Cup since 2006. Ranked No. 25 in the FIFA Rankings, South Korea has every reason to feel confident heading into this tournament as the team went undefeated in World Cup qualifying, winning 11 and drawing five out of the 16 games. Hong Myung-bo will coach South Korea for the second time at a World Cup after previously leading the 2014 campaign where the team failed to get out of the group stage. Hong took the job in 2024 after Jürgen Klinsmann was fired amid great publicity. As a player, Hong is considered the greatest defender in South Korea’s history and he finished with 136 appearances, including a run to the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup. As a manager, he led South Korea to the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics. The expectations are high for South Korea at this World Cup given the strength of its World Cup qualifying record. But a hungry Czechia team awaits. Currently ranked 41st in the FIFA World Rankings, Czechia qualified for the World Cup in thrilling fashion through the UEFA playoffs in March, where they defeated the Republic of Ireland and Denmark, both via a shootout after each game ended 2-2. But Czechia also had a rough patch in qualifying that included a 5-1 loss to Croatia and a stunning 2-1 loss to the Faroe Islands. That loss saw head coach Ivan Hasek fired and eventually replaced by 74-year-old Miroslav Koubek at the end of 2025. Throughout its qualifying run, the Czechs thrived on set pieces with 50% of all goals coming from set pieces, including all four of their goals in the March playoffs. Czechia has been very inconsistent and very difficult to predict but its success in this tournament and in this opening game against South Korea will come down to set-pieces and whether South Korea can neutralize Czechia’s biggest strength. Player to Watch “Sonny” is the most decorated and most successful player in the history of Asian soccer. The 33-year-old forward has 144 appearances with South Korea where he has scored 56 goals and is now the team’s captain. Now playing for Los Angeles FC in MLS, Son achieved fame playing for major European clubs including German clubs Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen before moving to Tottenham Hotspur, where he became a club legend. It was in North London where he won the Premier League Golden Boot for the 2021-22 season along with Mohamed Salah with 23 goals. The following season he scored his 100th Premier League goal and in 2023 he was named Tottenham’s captain. Son has been incredibly successful for South Korea’s national team, but he has never won a World Cup knockout game. For a player of his stature, that is the ultimate goal this summer and a win over Czechia would go a long way towards giving him the platform to do so.