How foolish of me to think Arsenal’s Champions League loss was going to dampen my mood on the World Cup …
The 2026 FIFA World Cup finally got underway on Thursday after years of anticipation. What promised to be the biggest World Cup, not only in team size, taking place across North America had big shoes to fill with Mexico, South Africa, South Korea and Czechia kicking things off.
Whether you’re a casual, aficionado or new to the sport as a whole, World Cups are infectious. The beautiful game unites fans from countries across the world. In a relative bite-sized way, it’s like how New York is rallying around the Knicks during the NBA Finals. For the World Cup, it’s amplified globally.
Seeing Mexicans in Guadalajara celebrate with Koreans who traveled across the world, or even today with Canadians and Bosnians flooding the streets of Toronto ahead of their match. That’s the best of what the World Cup can bring off the pitch. Tim Howard recently said to SB Nation, “People like me or you aren’t ready for what’s going to happen. This is going to surpass all of our expectations. It’s going to be chaos in the most beautiful way.” From your lips to God’s ears, SecDef.
For all the good to experience, there’s the outside political and social noise around the tournament. It’s impossible to ignore, as much as sports try to be an escape from it. And there will be time to discuss those topics as they come up. However, Thursday showed the best of what’s to come.
Mexico’s moments at the Azteca
For all of the struggles Mexico’s national team underwent in recent years, Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez truly united the country at the Estadio Azteca to begin the tournament.
Given how well they performed and how 2010 played out, you wouldn’t think Mexico was winless in their opening games at World Cups. Consider that curse broken and the Concacaf powerhouse a real competitor in this tournament.
Al-Qadsiah’s Quiñones scored the first goal of the tournament becoming the first Concacaf player to score a World Cup opener. He joined the likes of Philipp Lahm, Enner Valencia and Siphiwe Tshabalala in recent history to do so.
For those who don’t know, this was actually a rematch from the 2010 World Cup. Tshabalala and Peter Drury’s iconic commentary haunted Mexicans for years. The fact that Quiñones even hit Tshabalala’s celebration truly completed the full circle moment.
If the game ended there, the script writers would’ve done a sufficient job. The fact that Jiménez scored his first World Cup goal for El Tri later was the cherry on top. A head injury during the 2020-21 season threatened to cut his career short, hence the head guard he wears at all times now on the pitch. To overcome that and score in front of his fans on home soil will be a moment he, his teammates, fans in the stadium and around the country will remember forever.
Also, you have to see this duck in a Mexico jersey walking the street. Absolutely incredible.
South Korea’s dramatic comeback against Czechia
What’s a World Cup without drama?
Mexico’s win was fairly straightforward—outside of three red cards—but the second game of the day was pressure-filled. Winning would put either South Korea or Czechia in a strong position to qualify for the knockout stage.
South Korea might have the star power advantage in Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in, but nothing is given in these tournaments. The Koreans were well-drilled in the first half trying to impose their system by playing through the lines. Though, they couldn’t find a decisive moment to break the deadlock. Everything has to be earned, as Czechia showed for the opening goal in the game.
A long throw in the second half saw Ladislav Krejčí break free in the box for a header to put his country up 1-0. If you’re familiar with the narratives around set pieces last season, get ready to see more this summer.
South Korea didn’t drop their heads and kept on pushing. Two goals in a 13-minute span from Hwang In-Beom and Oh Hyun-Gyu completed the turnaround as they left the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara with all three points. The perfect primer for future late winners for this summer.
Don’t let this World Cup pass you by
To point out a single factor from the entire day as to why the World Cup is so special, just listen to the crowds in the stadiums when goals are scored. That’s the purest sound in all of sports.
Yes, Madison Square Garden was electric in Game 4 of the NBA Finals when OG Anunoby tipped that ball in. But there’s nothing quite like the sound of a goal being scored on the biggest international stage in sports. Take in everything this World Cup has to offer, whether you’re watching from home by yourself, with friends or family, going to a bar, to a watch party or a game itself.
They only come around every four years—and if you live in the United States, Canada or Mexico who knows the next time the World Cup will be on home soil.
U.S. men’s national team legend Howard said it best himself: “I talk all the time in my role as a minority owner with the Houston Dynamo and Dash, get a ticket if you can. But if you can’t, go in the streets, go to watch parties. Probably the craziest fans in all of world soccer, the Dutch, will be in Houston following their bus in a sea of orange. Join that, be a part of it because it’s going to be memorable.”
