World Cup 2026 live: Empty seats and ‘mandatory’ water breaks take shine off opening games

Raul Jimenez provided Mexico with a “very special moment” to kick off the World Cup 2026 for the co-hosts in a 2-0 victory over South Africa, which included three red cards.

The 35-year-old was emotional after his father died aged 62 just three months ago, with pundits Thierry Henry and former teammate Javier Hernandez paying tribute to him.

After a controversial build-up to Fifa’s showpiece event, Mexico cleansed a World Cup and ensured the conversations around football will start to change. By Ed Malyon in Mexico City

President Donald Trump will not attend the USA’s first match of this World Cup against Paraguay in Los Angeles on Friday.

Paraguay’s president, Santiago Peña, announced on Wednesday that he would be traveling to California for the match but the official US delegation will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio instead, the State Department announced.

Trump has touted the World Cup as a marquee international event taking place during his presidency, casting it as an opportunity to showcase American strength but the build-up has been marred by diplomatic and logistical issues, including visa issues affecting players, officials, referees and fans.

Earlier on day one, three players were sent off in the opening game for the first time in World Cup history as co-hosts Mexico defeated nine-man South Africa in a chaotic match at a raucous Estadio Azetca in Mexico City. Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were shown red cards for South Africa before Mexico captain Cesar Montes was sent off in stoppage time. Three red cards is the most in a single World Cup game since 2006.

The World Cup 2026 action continued last night as Czech Republic and South Korea faced off in the second Group A match in Zapopan.

The Czechs took the lead when captain Ladislav Krejci headed the European side in front in the second half. But Hwang In-Beom equalised a few minutes later with a clever finish, before playing his role in the build-up as substitute Oh Hyeon-Gyu got the winner.

“We try to do during the last few games, against Senegal and Germany,” Mauricio Pochettino said ahead of the USA’s first game against Paraguay.

“I don’t like them, only in life when conditions are extreme, but when the conditions are good it is not necessary to have water breaks. The opponents are going to try take advantage of things when you are by the touchline.

“I think it is, for me, 50-50, the coaches and staff have the possibility to make some changes and fix some problems, it’s part of the game and we accept that, I repeat, I don’t agree, but it’s not a big issue, it’s not going to have a big effect.”

The 2026 World Cup continues on Friday night with two more host nations and two more opening ceremonies.

Canada begin their tournament in Toronto against Bosnia, before USA get going in Los Angeles against Paraguay.

Yesterday, co-hosts Mexico got off to the perfect start with a 2-0 win over South Africa. South Korea joined the Mexicans at the top of Group A on three points after proving too good for Czechia.

Here’s what’s coming up at the World Cup tonight, on Thursday 11 June:

The World Cup 2026 saw thousands of empty seats in just the second match to further raise the controversy surrounding Fifa’s ticket prices for the spectacle.

South Korea defeated Czech Republic 2-1 in a gripping Group A contest in Guadalajara.

But amid controversy surrounding the ticket prices at the tournament, with Fifa president Gianni Infantino defending the dynamic pricing policy at his press conference on the eve of the tournament, thousands of empty red seats could be seen throughout the stadium during the contest at the Estadio Akron.

The 2026 World Cup has finally kicked off and co-hosts Mexico needed only nine minutes to go in front against South Africa before securing a 2-0 win in front of a sell-out crowd at the spectacular Estadio Azteca.

Raul Jimenez, finally starting a World Cup match in his fourth appearance at a tournament, headed in the second and shed a tear when celebrating while paying tribute to his father. While the match was undermined by three red cards, one for El Tri after two for their sorry opponents, it was a near perfect start for Javier Aguirre’s side.

In the other Group A fixture, South Korea ran out 2-1 winners over Czech Republic, pulling off a fine comeback after second-half goals from Hwang In Beom and Oh Hyeon Gyu.

Here is everything you need to know from day one of the super-sized tournament: