World Cup 2026: Protests, empty seats, red cards on chaotic opening day

Updated: 12 Jun 2026 07:16 BST |
5 min read

Robin Bairner
|
Chief Editor

Accredited football journalist and editor covering the game since 2006

🚨 Watch Video Highlights Here

Empty seats, protests and red cards were among the talking points from the opening day of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as Mexico easily saw off South Africa 2-0 in the opening game before South Korea overcame the Czech Republic 2-1.

World Cup gets off to a bang at the Azteca

Mexico’s victory over South Africa will not be remembered as the most enthralling game, yet the Azteca gave fans a reminder of its unique charm with the colour and atmosphere it provided as the backdrop for the opening game of the competition.

All the controversy over the tournament was brushed aside for 90 minutes in Mexico’s capital, with the steep stands, colour and noise providing everything that a football stadium should on such a grand stage.

Mexico delivered with a solid performance, meaning they have lost only one competitive game in 60 years at the cathedral of football.

The World Cup’s dirtiest game since 2006

Wilton Sampaio is a referee who is no stranger to controversy. The Brazilian was in charge of England’s 2-1 defeat to France in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, offering a performance that prompted Gary Neville to say: “The referee, I thought he had an absolute nightmare. An absolute joke of a referee.”

The South American official once again finds himself in the spotlight after the opening game of the World Cup, during which he produced three red cards.

South Africa’s Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane, plus Cesar Montes from Mexico were all dismissed in the first World Cup fixture since 2006 to see a hat-trick of reds. While Sithole’s was in line with the laws, the other dismissals appeared soft as Zwane was sent off for a flailing arm and Montes for a crude professional foul.

Sampaio also showed three yellow cards in a game that was far from dirty.

There were only four red cards in total during in both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, so this was out of step with recent history.

Police clash with protestors outside the Azteca

While inside the Azteca there was a party atmosphere as the World Cup got underway, outside there was a stark reminder about the controversy this tournament has brought. Riot police clashed with protestors during the game, with Molotov cocktails thrown outside the ground.

Protests were held by Mexicans against the government, arguing that the World Cup has distracted them from pressing social issues. For instance, 1000 family members of Mexico’s missing people, who marched towards the ground with candles and photos of their loved ones.

The New York Times reports that the total number of protestors was as high as 18,000, adding that the demonstrations were “largely peaceful”.

Long throw trend continues

Back on the field, the Czech Republic were broadly outplayed by South Korea as they suffered a 2-1 loss in Guadalajara. The Europeans, though, had their moment of hope when Wolves defender Ladislav Krejci rose highest to head home.

In a recent trend that was pioneered in the Premier League, his effort came from a long throw. Indeed, all of Czechia’s highlight moments arrived from set pieces, with Tomas Soucek having a goal disallowed for offside following a free kick and Adam Hlozek passing up another late chance from a throw.

Is this to be the World Cup of set pieces?

Thousands of empty seats in Guadalajara

Ticket prices have been a point of concern ahead of the World Cup, so it was impossible to ignore the swathes of empty seats that were clearly visible in Guadalajara as South Korea fought back to beat the Czech Republic 2-1.

In particular, there were thousands of seats not taken by spectators in the most expensive ticket categories, offering a stark early suggestion that FIFA has failed to gauge the price point of their admission prices accurately.

FIFA has claimed it has received over 500 million booking requests, but there are a reported 180,000 tickets still listed for sale across its official resale portals.

Was this a sign of things to come or simply a blip?