2026 FIFA World Cup Opening Day: Burna Boy Steals Show at Azteca as Mexico and South Korea Win Group A Openers

The 2026 FIFA World Cup officially kicked off on June 11 with a mix of cultural spectacle and competitive football, as Group A produced two results that set the tone for what promises to be a memorable tournament across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Before a ball was kicked inside Estadio Azteca, the opening ceremony delivered one of its most talked-about moments when Nigerian Afrobeats star Burna Boy took the stage alongside Colombian pop icon Shakira to perform their World Cup anthem, ‘Dai Dai’. The track — an Italian phrase meaning “let’s go” or “come on” — fuses Shakira’s signature Latin pop sound with Burna Boy’s characteristic Afrobeats groove, and had been designated as one of the official songs of the 2026 tournament. Shakira opened the performance with the first verse before Burna Boy, dressed in denim jeans, delivered his verse to a packed stadium crowd and a global television audience.

With the ceremony concluded, attention turned to the pitch, where Mexico became the first nation in history to host three World Cup opening matches, a distinction that added further weight to the occasion at the iconic Estadio Azteca.

Mexico made the most of their home advantage, defeating South Africa 2-0 in a match that was as much defined by Bafana Bafana’s indiscipline as it was by the hosts’ quality. Al Qadsiah striker Julian Quinones opened the scoring after capitalising on a costly error by South Africa’s Yaya Sithole, who compounded his mistake by receiving a red card for a foul on Brian Gutierrez. Mexico did not take long to double their advantage, with Raul Jimenez powering home a close-range header to make it 2-0. South Africa’s afternoon worsened further when Themba Zwane was dismissed for violent conduct following a VAR review. Mexico’s Cesar Montes was also shown a red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity, though his dismissal did not affect the outcome as La Tri closed out a comfortable victory to take an early lead in Group A.

The second Group A fixture produced a more dramatic conclusion, as South Korea came from behind to beat the Czech Republic — who were returning to the World Cup — with a late winner. South Korea controlled much of the contest but were unable to convert their first-half dominance into goals. The Czechs then took a surprise lead against the run of play when Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Ladislav Krejci headed home from a long throw delivered by Vladimir Coufal. The advantage was short-lived, however, as In-Beom Hwang restored parity for South Korea in the 69th minute. The momentum shifted firmly in the Koreans’ favour, and substitute Hyeon-Gyu Oh completed the turnaround with a winner ten minutes from the final whistle, securing a 2-1 victory.

At the close of the opening day, both Mexico and South Korea sit on three points apiece at the top of Group A, with Mexico leading on goal difference courtesy of their superior 2-0 result. South Africa and the Czech Republic, meanwhile, face an early must-improve situation if they are to progress from the group stage. For South Africa in particular, the defeat was a historically unwanted result, as they became the first African side to suffer a loss at this edition of the tournament.