The opening round of group fixtures delivered chaos, history, heartbreak and Messi. In that order.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Matchday 1 fixtures opened across nine days and did not waste a single one. From the Azteca to Dallas to East Rutherford, the first round of group stage matches delivered everything you want from a tournament. Upsets, red cards, six-goal thrillers, and a 38-year-old man reminding everyone why we still argue about him.
Here is everything that happened, what it means, and what to watch going forward.
MEXICO 2–0 SOUTH AFRICA
Group A | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City | June 11
The tournament began where it should — at the Azteca, the most storied stadium in World Cup history, now the first venue to host matches at three different men’s World Cups having staged games in 1970 and 1986.
Julián Quiñones gave El Tri an early lead with the first goal of the tournament just nine minutes in, before Raúl Jiménez doubled the advantage in the second half.
The scoreline looked routine. The match was anything but.
Raúl Jiménez celebrated his goal in tears on the pitch. The 35-year-old suffered a serious head injury in 2020 which threatened his career. Scoring a World Cup goal on home soil was something he had always dreamed of. If you did not feel something watching that, well, check your pulse.
Then came the chaos. The match was marred by three red card dismissals, the most in a match in World Cup history, leaving South Africa down to just nine players. South Africa’s Sithole and Zwane both saw red for separate incidents. Mexico’s Montes completed the set in stoppage time for denying a goalscoring opportunity. Three red cards. All three players miss the next match. A World Cup record for the worst possible reason.
The last time three consecutive reds were shown in a World Cup, South Africa were also involved — against Denmark in 1998. Some teams have legacy. South Africa have this including being whiny about jobs.
Mexico top Group A. South Africa are bottom, down two players, and facing Czechia next. It was always going to be hard, but now, it just got significantly harder.
SOUTH KOREA 2–1 CZECHIA
Group A | Estadio Akron, Guadalajara | June 11
If Mexico vs South Africa was about history and red cards, South Korea vs Czechia was about the quieter kind of drama.
Son Heung-min could not convert several first half chances as Korea dominated possession without converting it. Then Czechia did what organised teams do, they scored from a set piece. Ladislav Krejčí rose above the defence to score with a strong header in the 59th minute from a Vladimir Coufal long throw. Unglamorous. Effective. And for a minute, Czechia looked like they were going to hold it.
They did not.
Lee Kang-in played a precise forward pass to Hwang In-beom, who moved inside and directed a right-footed finish into the far corner in the 67th minute to level it. Then in the 80th minute, Oh Hyeon-gyu, who had come on as a substitute for Son, finished off a Hwang cross to complete the comeback.
Hwang scored one and set up the winner. Son came off and his replacement scored the decisive goal. That is the kind of subplot that makes tournaments endlessly entertaining.
South Korea join Mexico on three points. Group A is set up beautifully, the two winners meet on June 18.
SPAIN 0–0 CAPE VERDE
Group H | June 15
And here is where the tournament started making its statement.
Spain and Cape Verde played out a goalless draw, leaving the group wide open and many long shot tickets ripped. Spain. One of the pre-tournament favourites. Held by a nation of half a million people. The gap is closing. It is not new information, but watching it happen live never gets less startling. Even Starboy Yamal could not save them, not at this time.
SAUDI ARABIA 1–1
URUGUAY Group H | June 15
Saudi Arabia held two-time champions Uruguay 1-1.
Saudi Arabia have made a habit of this. In 2022, they beat Argentina. Now, they are stifling Uruguay. This is a team that has figured something out about tournament football and nobody is quite willing to admit it yet.
Uruguay, one of the two favourites in the group, dropped points in their opener, leaving Group H wide open. Alongside Spain’s draw on the same day, the entire group is sitting on one point each with everything to play for.
BELGIUM 1–1 EGYPT
Group G | June 15
Belgium are always five years away from their golden generation expiring. Egypt took advantage of the ambiguity. A draw that serves neither team particularly well but tells you everything about how open this tournament is at the top.
IRAN 2–2 NEW ZEALAND
Group G | June 15
New Zealand were locked in a 2-2 stalemate with Iran.
New Zealand at a World Cup is already a story. New Zealand taking a point from Iran in a back-and-forth thriller in Los Angeles is a different kind of story entirely. They left South Africa 2010 unbeaten in the group stage. They have clearly not forgotten how to do this.
FRANCE 3–1 SENEGAL
Group I | June 16
France avoided the curse that claims major nations on opening day and did so with the kind of performance that reminded everyone why they are considered favourites.
France defeated Senegal 3-1 thanks to an inspired second half performance, led by Michael Olise. Kylian Mbappé became France’s record goalscorer with his brace against the African champions. Cherki. Olise. Mbappé. This French attack is genuinely frightening when it clicks.
As for Senegal — the champions of Africa went a goal down and never fully recovered. Sadio Mané was present but not decisive. They have two more group games to correct that.
NORWAY 4–1 IRAQ
Group I | June 16
Iraq and Norway played out a 4-1 scoreline in which Erling Haaland, unsurprisingly, netted twice.
Some things are predictable. Haaland scoring at a World Cup was one of them. The only surprise was it took him until Norway had the game comfortable. Norway are a legitimate dark horse in this tournament and Group I just got more interesting.
ARGENTINA 3–0 ALGERIA
Group J | June 16
And then there was Messi.
38-year-old Lionel Messi turned back the clock by netting a first World Cup hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria.
Read that again. 38 years old. First World Cup hat-trick of his career. In what is almost certainly his final tournament. The man has won everything there is to win in football and he is still finding new records to set. At 38.
That hat-trick made Messi the oldest player to score one at a men’s World Cup at 38 years and 357 days old — obliterating Ronaldo’s record set at the 2018 World Cup. It also moved him level with Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals, the most in the history of the tournament. He is 38 years old and tied the all-time record. Process that.
Algeria’s game plan of sitting deep and frustrating Argentina lasted about as long as it takes Messi to find a gap. When he is this motivated, one last dance, one more chance at legacy, he is genuinely still the most dangerous player at this tournament.
Argentina top Group J on goal difference. The Messi conversation, incredibly, is still going.
AUSTRIA 3–1 JORDAN
Group J | June 17
Austria beat Jordan 3-1 to join Argentina on three points. Their second group game is against Argentina directly, which has just become one of the most interesting matches of the group stage.
PORTUGAL 1–1 DR CONGO
Group K | June 17
Cristiano Ronaldo is not happy. Ronaldo is never happy when things do not go to plan and the plan here was straightforward. Score, win, be the greatest.
Portugal took an early lead against DR Congo but squandered their opportunity to make a fast start. DR Congo equalised through Yoane Wissa and that is how it stayed. Cristiano Ronaldo was, predictably, not pleased.
This is Ronaldo’s sixth World Cup. It may be his last chance at the only trophy his career is missing. A draw against DR Congo is not how you start that campaign. Portugal will need to be significantly better against Uzbekistan.
DR Congo, meanwhile, are playing in their first World Cup since 1974. They took a point from Portugal. That is not nothing.
ENGLAND 4–2 CROATIA
Group L | June 17
Six goals. Two former semi-finalists. One scoreline that tells you everything about the state of both teams right now.
England beat Croatia 4-2 in what was the most entertaining match of the opening round. Thomas Tuchel’s England came to make a statement. Croatia, who have made a career out of punishing complacency, made them earn every goal.
The result vindicates Tuchel’s aggressive selection choices. Without Foden and Palmer, England still found a way to score four. Bellingham was everywhere. But conceding two to Croatia, a team that was supposed to be getting old will give Tuchel things to think about before the next match.
Croatia are not done. They very rarely are.
WHAT MATCHDAY 1 TOLD US
Four draws in the opening round of fixtures across the tournament. The most in a single World Cup day since 1958. Every draw was earned. None of them were flukes.
The gap between the top nations and the so-called minnows is the smallest it has ever been. Spain could not beat Cape Verde. Saudi Arabia held Uruguay. New Zealand took a point from Iran. Belgium could not beat Egypt. DR Congo held Portugal.
The 48-team World Cup was supposed to dilute quality. What it has actually done is give more nations the tournament experience needed to compete at the top level. Every team in this tournament believes they can take a point from anyone.
The players who have announced themselves so far — Hwang In-beom running South Korea’s comeback, Olise catching fire for France, Jiménez scoring through tears at the Azteca, and Messi scoring a hat-trick at 38 as if any of this is normal — are the stories that will define how we remember this tournament’s opening week.
More to come. A lot more.
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