World Cup Day 1: Mexico Delivers at the Azteca, USA Up Tonight
The 2026 World Cup is underway. Mexico handled South Africa 2-0 in the opener at the Estadio Azteca, with Julián Quiñones scoring the first goal of the tournament on a clinical nutmeg finish, Raúl Jiménez adding the second off the bench, and tempers boiling over into three red cards. In the late Group A match, South Korea came from behind to beat Czechia 2-1 behind a Hwang In-Beom masterclass. Day 1 favorites took care of business, and now the spotlight shifts to the USMNT, who open their home World Cup tonight against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium.
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Day 1 Results
| Match (Group A) | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico vs South Africa | 2-0 | Quiñones (tournament's first goal), Jiménez; three red cards |
| South Korea vs Czechia | 2-1 | Korea from 0-1 down; Hwang In-Beom goal + assist, Oh Hyeon-Gyu 80' winner |
Quiñones' opener made history twice over: the first goal of the 2026 tournament, and the first time a Concacaf player has scored the opening goal of a World Cup edition. South Africa's afternoon unraveled in a chippy, card-filled second half, and Jiménez sealed it as a substitute. In Guadalajara, Czechia led through a Ladislav Krejčí header before Hwang equalized in the 67th and set up Oh Hyeon-Gyu's winner in the 80th.
How the Day 1 Bets Settled
- Mexico -235: ✅ WIN. Never in doubt after Quiñones struck. The first leg of our Mexico + USA opening double has landed.
- Opener unders: ✅ The 2-0 scoreline kept Mexico-South Africa under most totals (2.5 juiced to the over was the common line), continuing the historical pattern of tight openers.
- Group A early picture: Mexico and South Korea on 3 points. Mexico-South Korea on matchday 2 now shapes up as the group decider.
Tonight: USA vs Paraguay · SoFi Stadium
| Market | Line | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| USA to win | -102 | Barely a favorite for the host opener |
| Draw | +265 | Live in a nervy home opener |
| Paraguay to win | +350 | Built to frustrate; set-piece threat |
The second leg of the opening double rides tonight. The USMNT opens in front of 70,000 in Inglewood as the slimmest of favorites at -102. Paraguay's deep block and time-wasting are tailor-made for a tense host opener, exactly the script Mexico just survived. Full odds breakdown and Group D analysis in our opening matches preview.
Where to Bet the World Cup From New York
All nine NY-licensed sportsbooks have full World Cup boards with live in-play for every match. FanDuel leads the NY market on Same Game Parlay pricing for soccer and is running the largest guaranteed welcome offer in the state: "Get $350 in Bonus Bets Guaranteed" (bet $5 for 7 days, $350 in bonus bets regardless of result).
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See our World Cup 2026 betting hub for the full schedule and the MetLife Stadium matches, including the final on July 19. Compare all nine operators at our NY sportsbooks comparison.
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