Mexico and the United States opened the 2026 World Cup Games with wins, but the broader CONCACAF picture was far less flattering. Mexico beat Sudáfrica 2-0 in Guadalajara, and Estados Unidos handled Paraguay 4-1, leaving only two of the region’s teams with victories after the first round.
That is why the opening day mattered today: in a tournament being played in Norteamérica, the region entered with expectations of more than a pair of wins and a long list of flat starts. Canadá drew 1-1 with Bosnia y Herzegovina to take its first point, Haití fell 0-1 to Escocia, and Curazao was routed 7-1 by Alemania. By the end of the day, half of CONCACAF had not even picked up a point.
For Mexico, the decisive moment came from Luis Romo, 31, who scored at 50 minutes for the 1-0 lead in Guadalajara before the match finished 2-0. It was the fifth goal of his career with the Selección Mexicana. The goal arrived after Kim Seung-Gyu came out to catch a ball outside his area, lost it after contact, and Mexico punished the mistake. FOX Deportes described the play in the moment as El Tri taking advantage of the keeper miscues to move ahead.
The rest of the opening round explains why the result stood out. Canadá at least avoided defeat and added its first point in the Mundial, but the pattern for the region was uneven from the start. Mexico and Estados Unidos won; the others either drew or lost. That split is the story of CONCACAF’s first day, and it sets a blunt standard for what the next matches have to repair.
There was also noise away from the pitch. On 18 June, the family Messi released a separate statement about Jorge Messi, while Lionel Messi said the family was always close and that it was a difficult moment. It had nothing to do with the scoreboard, but it was part of the same news cycle around the tournament. The football answer, for now, is simpler: Mexico and Estados Unidos gave CONCACAF its only clean starts, and the rest of the region now has to make up ground.
