TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off Thursday and people here in Tallahassee came together to watch.
Dozens of fans gathered at Casa Grande Mexican Restaurant for a watch party of the global tournament’s starting match between Mexico and South Africa.
People repped their favorite jerseys, cheered and celebrated as Mexico scored its first goal Thursday afternoon.
Konrad Kiker, who attended the watch party, said it was a great match.
“So they invited us to come over to watch a little round of soccer for the first match to kick it off,” Kiker said. “It’s just an exciting game, I’d say.”
Paxton Everett attended the watch party as well and said their mom invited them. “My mom wanted to go to Casa Grande this morning. She told me she was like, ‘let’s go to Casa Grande to watch the first game at three,’ I was like, sure.”
The U.S. team is playing Paraguay on Friday in Los Angeles. Eight of the World Cup matches will be played in Atlanta and seven will be in Miami.
Those games begin Monday.
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