The 2026 World Cup began Thursday with eruptions of joy in Mexico City.At long last — after days, weeks, months, years of controversy over ticket prices, funding, visas and more — the grandest soccer tournament in human history started with pageantry, emotion and a few great human stories.In the inaugural match, Mexico beat South Africa, 2-0. In the nightcap, South Korea came back to beat Czech Republic, 2-1. On Friday, attention will shift to Mexico’s co-hosts Canada and the United States; but before we look ahead, Thursday was worth savoring because it reminded us why we love the World Cup.Throughout the the tournament, The Athletic will bring you daily recaps on the World Cup’s biggest talking points and highlight what you shouldn’t miss in the next 24 hours. This is what happened on Matchday 1.Mexico’s timely pick-me-upSo much of the buildup to this World Cup had revolved around the United States. President Donald Trump took center stage at December’s draw. U.S. cities bickered with FIFA, soccer’s global governing body and the tournament organisers. American sports essentially set the ticket market. Eleven NFL stadiums will host 78 of the 104 matches, including every one from the quarterfinals onward.Mexico, though, got the opener, and it put on the show that FIFA needed: a soccer show.Mexico, much more so than its co-hosts, is a soccer country, una nación futbolera. It has hosted two men’s World Cups before (1970 and 1986) and, on Thursday, it stopped in its tracks for the third. Streets emptied. Living rooms and the mystical Estadio Azteca filled up. Nerves tingled, then trembled.And then, in the ninth minute, Julian Quiñones washed away all that tension with the tournament’s first goal, eliciting a nationwide roar. The Athletic’s Jacob Whitehead heard it from the streets of Guadalajara. Mexican fans across the continent, south and north of the U.S. border, leapt skyward. Inside the stadium, beer and sombreros flew.UK readers watch here: