World Cup 2026 Opener Sees Record Three Red Cards

Mexico began its 2026 World Cup campaign with a comfortable victory over South Africa, but the match will be remembered for an unprecedented statistic: three direct red cards issued by Brazilian referee Sampaio. The game set a new record for the most sendings-off in an opening match of a World Cup finals tournament.

The first expulsion occurred in the 49th minute when Mexico's Gutierrez was brought down by Sitole as he was breaking clear on goal. Later, in the 84th minute, Juane was sent off after a VAR review for an off-the-ball incident, leaving South Africa with nine men. The disciplinary actions continued into stoppage time when Montes received a straight red card for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity, resulting in Mexico finishing with ten players and South Africa with nine.

With these three dismissals, the match tied the existing World Cup record for the most red cards in a single game. This record was previously held by five other matches. The infamous 2006 World Cup match between Portugal and the Netherlands, however, still stands as the record holder for the most red cards in any World Cup game, with a total of four.