The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Thursday, June 11 in Mexico Metropolis.
Host nation Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in entrance of a raucous crowd to start its event with a win. Julian Quinones opened the scoring within the ninth minute, and Raul Jimenez doubled the lead within the 67th.
The scoreline was augmented by a frankly unbelievable pink card tally — three separate gamers, two for South Africa and one for Mexico, had been despatched off earlier than the match was by means of. It was the best pink card tally within the historical past of World Cup openers.
Listed here are three key takeaways from the eventful opening match of the 2026 World Cup.
Brian Gutierrez’s gamble paid off
Illinois-born winger Brian Gutierrez was a U.S. Males’s Nationwide Crew prospect as lately as January 2025. He performed a component in each of the staff’s unofficial matches in opposition to Venezuela and Costa Rica in that window — you could keep in mind these because the matches the place Diego Luna broke his nostril — however fell out of favor with coach Mauricio Pochettino over the spring.
Gutierrez wasn’t having it. He had choices — he was eligible for the Mexican nationwide staff by means of his dad and mom — and he determined to discover them. Official conferences with Mexico coach Javier Aguirre led to Gutierrez making a one-time swap over to the Mexico nationwide staff, and the remainder, as they are saying, is historical past.
When Gutierrez publicized his resolution in November 2025, many American followers derided him for considering he may break into El Tri when he’d struggled to interrupt into the USMNT. They are not laughing anymore. Gutierrez began Mexico’s World Cup opener and made the play that decreased South Africa to 10 males within the second half. He was irrepressible, aggressive and each inch the playmaker that Mexico so desperately wanted on this match.
Raul Jimenez used his head
Wolves striker Raul Jimenez is fortunate to be alive, not to mention enjoying on the World Cup Stage. He fractured his skull in a Premier League match in 2021 after colliding with David Luis on a nook, and his preliminary prognosis was bleak. The damage compelled Jimenez into emergency life-saving surgical procedure and saved him off the sector for effectively over 9 months.
Seeing Jimenez again with the nationwide staff, nonetheless proudly carrying his concussion headband for security, is heartwarming; seeing him scoring an important aim along with his head is downright emotional. Few gamers have fought tougher for his or her careers than Jimenez did after that horror damage, however he’s again in an enormous manner.
