Then, the Hwang show. An industrious off-the-ball run 10 minutes later saw him picked out by Lee but, with searing pace not one of his biggest strengths, it initially looked like the opening might have passed.

A star-studded opening ceremony featuring Shakira, Burna Boy and J Balvin kicked off the 2026 World Cup before a crowd of more than 80,000 at the revamped Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. Mexico opened the 48-team tournament against South Africa,

South Africa coach Hugo Broos became the oldest coach to manage a World Cup match when his team opened the 2026 World Cup against Mexico on Thursday. He held that record for mere hours. The 74-year-old Belgian broke a record that had stood for 16 years when Greece's Otto Rehhagel became the oldest manager in tournament history in 2010 at the age

Czechia outlasted Denmark in penalty kicks in the winner-take-all match in Prague to clinch a spot in the 2026 World Cup, the country's first appearance in the tournament since 2006. Pavel Sulc scored off a corner kick in the third minute for the Czechs,

Egyptian referee Amin Mohamed Omar will officiate the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A match between South Korea and Czechia at Guadalajara Stadium. A FIFA-approved referee since 2017, Omar has handled 269 matches,

Bafana Bafana's Group A encounter against Czechia at the 2026 FIFA World Cup will see Tori Penso become the first American woman to officiate a men's World Cup match.