The 2026 FIFA World Cup roared to life on Thursday, June 11, at Mexico City’s Estadio Ciudad de México — and roar it did, in every sense. Co-hosts Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0 in the opening match, but the scoreline barely tells the story: the game produced three red cards, making it one of the most tempestuous tournament openers in World Cup history.
Julián Quiñones opened the scoring for Mexico, with veteran striker Raúl Jiménez adding the second. Boxing superstar Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez was in the stands and later descended to the dressing rooms to congratulate Quiñones and teammate Armando “La Hormiga” González in person.
The match also debuted a new protocol pushed by Italian legend Alessandro del Piero — a change to the pre-match anthem ceremony that del Piero had championed for years. The former Juventus star had spoken publicly about the pain of being separated from teammates during the national anthem at a World Cup semifinal, and FIFA finally acted on his proposal.
But the drama wasn’t confined to the stadium. Outside, at the FIFA Fan Fest in the Zócalo — the sprawling central square of Mexico City — thousands of fans without tickets packed in for the free viewing event. Three well-known Costa Rican content creators and musicians documented harrowing scenes on social media: massive, uncontrolled crowds, extreme heat, and what they described as a total absence of crowd management. The images showed people trapped in a sea of bodies struggling simply to enter the venue.
The tournament now continues with South Korea set to face Czechia, while Panama — featuring Deportivo Saprissa defender Fidel Escobar in their expected starting lineup — will debut against Ghana on June 17.
