Despite FIFA's claim of 500 million ticket requests, the South Korea vs Czechia match had many empty seats. Meanwhile, violent protests in Mexico City overshadowed the tournament's start, highlighting missing persons and labor issues.
The second match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between South Korea and Czechia was played on Thursday night in front of hundreds of empty seats at Guadalajara Stadium in Mexico, delivering a major blow to FIFA on the opening day of the tournament.
Just weeks after FIFA President Gianni Infantino claimed that the ticketing site had received an unprecedented 500 million booking requests, the stadium appeared nowhere near full for the 8pm kickoff. The announced attendance was 44,985 at the 45,664-capacity venue, but significant patches of empty seats were visible, particularly in VIP sections and areas opposite the main TV camera.
FIFA had been desperate to avoid this visual heading into the summer soccer festival, having drastically cut ticket prices for all 104 matches in an attempt to entice more supporters to the US, Canada, and Mexico, despite boasting about the huge demand. The ticketing controversy was just one part of a chaotic opening day for FIFA. In April, Infantino had stated: 'You ve heard, there were many discussions about the ticketing of the World Cup.
We had 500 million ticket requests - 500 million ticket requests. In the last two World Cups together, we had 50 million ticket requests. Here, 500 million.
' However, thousands of tickets still remain available on FIFA's official resale portals, including for the United States' opening match against Paraguay on Friday in Los Angeles. South Korea eventually won the match 2-1, coming from behind to defeat Czechia, but the empty seats dominated the narrative on social media, with posts highlighting the contrast between FIFA's claims and the reality in the stands.
Adding to the tournament's troubled start, violent protests erupted outside Mexico City Stadium before the opening match between Mexico and South Africa. What was meant to be a global celebration turned into a political nightmare, overshadowing the curtain-raiser. While Mexico secured a 2-0 victory, thousands of protesters took to the capital to voice rage over missing citizens and poor labor conditions.
The demonstrations were fueled by a coalition of unions and activist groups, including searching mothers' collectives, the CNTE teachers' union, federal judiciary workers, and transport organizations. Eight simultaneous protests were reported on Thursday. Human rights groups highlighted Mexico's staggering missing-persons epidemic, with 134,460 recorded missing persons according to the National Registry, a figure that continues to rise rapidly.
The protests threatened to derail the World Cup's narrative of unity and celebration, forcing FIFA to confront the underlying social issues in the host nation
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