🤯 Card chaos in World Cup opener: red-card deluge rewrites history | OneFootball

The World Cup opener between Mexico and South Africa may not have delivered the highest-quality football, but it was definitely very entertaining. In the end, the hosts won 2-0.

What will be remembered far more than the result, however, is the wave of red cards that referee Wilton Pereira Sampaio handed out in the second half. 

The Brazilian sent off two South Africans, Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane, as well as Mexico’s Cesar Montes.

Unsurprisingly, three straight red cards in an opening match mean a new World Cup record. What’s more, across the last two tournaments in 2018 and 2022, there were only four sendings-off in total. That mark is already under threat after just one match!

However, the all-time record for red cards in a World Cup match was not broken at the Azteca Stadium. That distinction still belongs to the "Battle of Nuremberg." In 2006, an incredible four players were sent off in the Round of 16 match between Portugal and the Netherlands!

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 CARL DE SOUZA - AFP or licensors