Three red cards flew in the second half alone — two for South Africa, one for Mexico — which is reportedly unprecedented for a World Cup opening match. The last time any World Cup game saw three sends-offs was the infamous 'Battle of Nuremberg' in 2006, roughly 20 years ago. So before a single group-stage week has passed, 2026 already owns a piece of tournament history, and the refereeing standard set here will be the talking point heading into every match this weekend.

Amid the card chaos, the emotional core of the night was Raul Jimenez. Mexico's 35-year-old talisman had gone four World Cups and 12 years without a goal — until he headed one in at a home-soil tournament and broke down in tears. It's the kind of redemption arc that travels far beyond football fandom, and it gave Mexico's 1-0 win a storyline worth more than the three points.

Kickoff came at 4:00 AM Japan time in Mexico City. Mexico's Quinones struck early to put the hosts ahead, and South Africa's first red card sent the team's name trending in Japan even at that hour. From there the match tilted permanently toward Mexico, who closed out the win as the disciplinary count climbed.

The three-nation Canada–Mexico–USA tournament officially opened on June 11 local time, and Japan marked it with B'z dropping their new song 'Kanzen Muketsu' and large-scale Ado visuals taking over Shibuya. The combination kept World Cup chatter dominating Japanese social media well before any on-pitch drama.

DAZN and NHK are both carrying the tournament live — DAZN streamed the opener free — and Yuka Kageyama is filing reports from Mexico City. If you want to follow the group stage from Japan, those two outlets are the practical starting point.