World Cup 2026 opening day takeaways: Red cards, VAR and hydration breaks

Five goals, 4 h2o breaks, 3 reddish cards and a glittering opening ceremony.

The World Cup 2026 opening time delivered everything you could inquire for.

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From an aboriginal thunder strike to a late winning goal, Thursday was filled with drama, stretching from Mexico City to Zapopan.

Al Jazeera breaks down the cardinal takeaways from the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s time 1:

Is this going to beryllium the World Cup with the astir reddish cards?

The 3 reddish cards brandished to Yaya Sithole, Themba Zwame and Cesar Montes during Mexico’s 2-0 triumph implicit South Africa were an antithetic show astatine a World Cup.

In the past 2 editions, Qatar 2022 and Russia 2018, lone 4 reddish cards were handed retired during the full tournament. This year’s World Cup opening crippled astir matched that singlehandedly.

With officiating astatine the commencement of the tourney usually mounting the code for the remainder of the campaign, the series of sending offs astatine Estadio Azteca could beryllium repeated respective times during the 39-day, 104-match spectacle successful North America.

Thursday’s 3 reds fell conscionable 1 abbreviated of the grounds of 4 astatine a World Cup 2006 game, nicknamed the “Battle of Nuremberg”, betwixt Portugal and the Netherlands.

The grounds for the astir reddish cards – 28 – was besides acceptable astatine the aforesaid tourney successful Germany.

Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio shows a reddish paper to South Africa’s midfielder Themba Zwane [Yuri Cortez/AFP]

Controversial VAR astatine the centre of statement again

The look of disorder and disbelief among South African players aft Zwane was sent disconnected for flinging an limb into Mexico’s Roberto Alvarado’s look prompted the debate: Is Video Assistant Referee (VAR) playing spoilsport again?

Referee Wilton Sampaio did not initially propulsion retired the reddish card, but aft being sent to the pitchside show by VAR, Sampaio decided to nonstop Zwane off.

While the replays were unclear, it seemed Zwane was trying to determination past Alvarado, but his manus caught the Mexican’s look successful the process.

Zwane was yet booked for “violent conduct”, a arguable decision, which seemed harsh fixed it was not an evident call. South Africa manager Hugo Broos was not convinced by it, either.

“The 2nd reddish card, I deliberation the Mexican subordinate blocked my player,” Broos said successful the post-match media conference.

“It’s the presumption of the referee, and we person to judge it also, but I don’t deliberation [it was a red], it was excessively brushed to springiness that arsenic a reddish card.”

Hydration breaks oregon momentum killers?

The instauration of fixed hydration breaks – 1 successful each fractional – came into effect for the archetypal clip astatine the World Cup connected Thursday, and attracted aboriginal disapproval from viewers and coaches alike.

While immoderate broadcasters stuck with the unrecorded provender featuring players, others chopped to commercials, disrupting the match-viewing acquisition for fans watching connected TV.

Viewers successful the United States were frustrated aft broadcaster Fox chopped distant to full-screen commercials and they missed immoderate unrecorded enactment during the 2nd fractional of the Mexico vs South Africa opening match.

US caput manager Mauricio Pochettino had a mixed sentiment implicit the three-minute breaks, which are held careless of upwind conditions and introduced by FIFA to prioritise subordinate welfare.

“I don’t similar it. I lone similar it erstwhile the conditions are precise extreme, but erstwhile the conditions are good, it is not indispensable to person h2o breaks,” helium said during a quality league connected Thursday.

“For me, it’s 50-50. For coaches and staff, it’s a accidental to marque immoderate changes oregon hole problems. But it’s portion of the game, and we judge that.

“I don’t hold with it, but it’s not a large contented and won’t person a large effect connected the games,” helium said, adding that helium did not ticker the opening game.

Son Heung-min misfires, but South Korea prevail

Son Heung-min has often been the leader of the South Korea nationalist squad connected the biggest stage, but connected Thursday, adjacent though the talisman got the lion’s stock of the chances, helium failed to people successful their 2-1 triumph implicit Czechia.

Son worked seamlessly with the awesome Lee Kang-in and Lee Jae-sung to make a big of first-half chances, with the trio combining darting runs done the mediate with a succession of unsafe pass-and-go moves that they conscionable could not finish.

But Oh Hyeon-gyu and Hwang In-beom stepped up to the occasion, bagging a extremity each to steer the Koreans to a melodramatic precocious comeback triumph implicit Czechia.

South Korea’s Son Heung-min reacts aft missing a accidental to people successful their World Cup opener against Czechia [Daniel Becerril/Reuters]

South Korea vs Czechia: A clash of styles

Even though some teams opted for a 3-4-3 formation, determination was a stark quality successful their systems and approach.

South Korea played a fluid, possession-based benignant of football, portion Czechia were heavy reliant connected dormant balls, opting for a rugged, route-one tactic.

Although the Czechs broke guardant archetypal with direct, carnal play, the Koreans – buoyed by a mostly Mexican assemblage rooting for them – bounced backmost with their dominance of possession and stylish play, getting the amended of their set-piece specializer opponents.