Hosts Mexico made a perfect launch of their World Cup 2026 campaign Thursday with an authentic 2-0 win against South Africa in A Group.
The second match of Day 1 saw South Korea coming from a goal behind to score twice to defeat Czech Republic 2-1.
Both the winners now have 3 points each and with a good chance to advance to the second round.
In a game that featured three red cards at the Aztec stadium in Mexico City, Mexico cruised to victory with goals by Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez.
Quinones settled the nerves early by scoring a goal in the 9th minute and helped set up the second. Jimenez sealed victory in the 67th minute as Mexico dominated South Africa all through the match.
In yesterday's game, 17-year-old Mexican sensation Gilberto Mora became the sixth-youngest player to take the field in World Cup history.
Hwang Inbeom was the hero for the Koreans in the second match as he scored one and created the other as the Asian giants came from a goal down to defeat Czechia and start their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with victory at Guadalajara Stadium..
It is the first time in four editions of the World Cup that South Korea have made a winning start to their campaign.
Korea had the better of the first half and frequently threatened, but were unable to find a way past Czechia goalkeeper Matej Kovar in the first 45 minutes.
Czechia then took the lead against the run of play in the 59th minute, with captain Ladislav Krejci scoring through a thundering header.
Hwang restored parity eight minutes later, and Oh Hyeongyu then scored the decisive winning goal in the 80th minute, leaving South Korea to celebrate a third consecutive World Cup win over a European opponent.
In the first match of Friday, hosts Canada will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in Group B at Toronto Stadium in Toronto at 3 PM ET, while the U.S. team will play their opener in home soil against Paraguay in Group D at Los Angeles Stadium in Los Angeles at 9 PM ET.
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Business News
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.