The opening match of the World Cup delivered a rarity in international soccer: three players sent off with red cards. No World Cup match has had that many players ejected since a 2006 game between Portugal and the Netherlands, when four players received red cards—a World Cup record. The last World Cup in Qatar in 2022 had only four red cards in the entire tournament.
- On Thursday at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium, Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were sent off for South Africa while César Montes was shown a red card for the tournament co-host, the AP reports. It's the first time three players have been sent off in the opening match of a World Cup—and all three were straight red cards, meaning none of the ejected players were given two yellows. Mexico won the match 2-0.
Sithole was red-carded after taking down Mexico's Brian Gutierrez on the edge of the box at the start of the second half. Things got worse for South Africa when Zwane was sent off following a video review for striking Roberto Alvarado in the face in the 84th minute. Finally, in stoppage time, Montes saw red for bringing down Khuliso Mudau. The red cards mean the three players will be suspended for at least one more match. South Africa's next match is against the Czech Republic and Mexico next faces South Korea in Guadalajara.
Mexico won in front of a boisterous home crowd. In Thursday's nightcap, South Korea rallied for a 2-1 in over the Czech Republic in Guadalajara, Mexico. All three goals were scored in an entertaining second half. On Friday, the other two co-hosts, the US and Canada, both get their opportunity for a fast start in front of their respective home countries, the AP reports.
- The Americans—who enter the tournament ranked 17th by FIFA—hope that matches on their home soil can lead to a World Cup breakthrough. The US has advanced to the knockout round in four of the last six World Cups it has played, but hasn't been able to get past the quarterfinals. The Americans' first opponent, Paraguay, is the lowest-ranked team in Group D at No. 47 and back in the World Cup for the first time in 16 years. Kickoff is at 9pm Eastern in Los Angeles.
- The Canadians will be searching for their first World Cup win when they face Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto at 3pm Eastern after going 0-3 in both 1986 and 2022. Canada has been on the rise over the past decade in the soccer world, moving to No. 30 in FIFA's rankings after being ranked below 100 as recently as 2017. Forward Jonathan David—who plays for Italian club Juventus—is the country's career scoring leader with 39 goals in 77 matches. Bosnia is playing in its second World Cup and first since 2014, when the country was eliminated in the group stage.
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