It only took one day for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to go full CONCACAF. And it was glorious.

Mexico defeated South Africa in a match that had three second half red cards while South Korea not only cancelled out the Czech Republic's opener but scored ten minutes from full time in a match that featured three second half goals.

We'll discuss the red cards in a bit, but the World Cup already hitting 75% of its red card numbers in one game from the previous tournament is absurd stuff in the best way possible. First, the nightcap action.

SOUTH KOREA 2, CZECH REPUBLIC 1

Czech Repbulic broke the deadlock at the hour mark only to concede twice to South Korea in a tremendous nightcap from Estadio Akron in Guadalajara.

Ladislav Krejci's header from a corner in the 59th mintue flew past Kim Seung-gyu in the Korean goal to give the Czechs the lead. But not even ten minutes later, South Korea would find their equalizer on a brillant back shoulder run from Hwang In-beom in the left channel. A perfectly weighted pass from Lee Kang-in between two Czechia defenders and keeper Matej Kovar allowed his teammate to stop, and chip an effort into the side netting in the 67th minute.

Ten minutes later the Czechs would have found a second from a set piece, only for the offside flag to rule out Tomas Soucek's effort in the 78th. Two mintues later, disaster struck, this time with Hwang In-beom playing provider receiving a ball over the top deep down the right wing and centering for substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu to redirect into the far side netting and the 2-1 final.

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MEXICO 2, SOUTH AFRICA 0

Sam Lattof already has a full Mexico-South Africa recap you can check out, so we'll offer some different thoughts.

First, what a moment for Raul Jimenez in his first ever World Cup start in his fourth tournament overall for El Tri. Congratulations from across the region rolled in on social media and you can absolutely tell how much this one meant to him as his goal essentially sealed the match.

Next, the flurry of second half red cards and the culmination of the no good very bad day for South Africa's Yaya Sithole. The defender's turnover led to Julian Quinones' opener and his subsequent denial of a goal scoring foul just after halftime was the first red card of the match and an easy decision for center referee Wilton Pereira Sampaio.

In the 84th minute, VAR requested a review for violent conduct as substitute Themba Zwane made contact with the head of Roberto Alvarado while trying to use a swim move to get around him. This red card was also justified as I think the secondary arm action from Zwane made it look a little bit like a wind up before striking Alvarado.

The third red card was issued in stoppage time to Mexico defender Cesar Montes after he dumped Khuliso Mudau at the top of the box with South Africa countering. Whether or not Mudau would have been in on goal isn't as concrete as the first denial situation, but Montes' decision to make such a strong challenge in that spot was very questionable.

GROUP OVERVIEW

This was a big comeback win for South Korea as they keep pace with Mexico atop the group. This makes their matchup taking place on Thursday all the more important for the top spot and the better knockout placement. With their initial losses, Czechia and South Africa can ill afford a second one in their matchup.

Mexico looked very strong throughout this match but will have to figure out how to replace Montes in the starting lineup in a tricky matchup against South Korea as the defender has been one of their key figures since his all-Gold Cup performance last summer.

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Can Mexico defend home soil and top the group or can Son Heung-min and South Korea or the Czechs conquer Estadio Azteca?
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NEXT MATCHUPS

Thursday, June 18

Match 25: Czech Republic vs. South Africa, 12 noon on Fox (Atlanta)

Match 28: Mexico vs. South Korea, 9 p.m. on Fox (Guadalajara, Mexico)

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