Miguel Almirón's dismissal for covering his mouth while speaking to an opponent in Paraguay's 1-0 win over Turkey was unusual, but there's nothing new about players losing their cool on the biggest stage. The 2026 World Cup has already seen eight players sent off, matching the total from the previous two tournaments combined (four in Russia 2018 and four in Qatar 2022).
Multiple red cards in a single match
The Mexico v South Africa match was the seventh World Cup game to feature more than two dismissals. South Africa midfielder Sphephelo Sithole was sent off in the 49th minute for denying a goalscoring opportunity, and Themba Zwane also saw red, making South Africa the 15th team to have two players sent off in the same World Cup match. Mexico's César Montes was dismissed in stoppage time, following in the footsteps of his manager Javier Aguirre, who was sent off while playing for Mexico in the 1986 quarter-final against West Germany.
Netherlands at the centre of controversy
The Netherlands have been involved in numerous red-card incidents. They were part of the only World Cup match with four red cards: the Battle of Nuremberg in 2006, a 1-0 defeat to Portugal. The last-16 match featured 16 yellow cards, with the first booking coming when Mark van Bommel scythed down Cristiano Ronaldo in the second minute. Costinha received the first red card just before half-time for deliberate handball. According to match reports, Luís Figo was lucky that his head-butt on Van Bommel was deemed merely a yellow.
The Netherlands were also involved in the World Cup match with the most yellow cards: the 2022 quarter-final against Argentina, where referee issued 18 yellows (16 for players and two for coaching staff). Argentina won on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
2010 World Cup final: Nigel de Jong's tackle
In the 2010 World Cup final, the Netherlands adopted an aggressive approach against Spain, with 14 yellow cards and eight of the Dutch starting XI booked. John Heitinga was sent off for two bookable offences, but Howard Webb decided not to show Nigel de Jong a red card for planting his studs on Xabi Alonso's chest. Webb later reflected: "One of the things I would change is the colour of the card for De Jong's tackle. Having seen it again from my armchair several times in slow motion and from different angles I can see that it was a red-card offence."
Red cards in World Cup finals
Heitinga is the last player sent off in a World Cup final, and the fifth overall. The first dismissal in a final came in 1990, when Argentina's Pedro Monzón was sent off 20 minutes after coming on as a substitute, followed by Gustavo Dezotti. In the 1998 final, Marcel Desailly was sent off for a second yellow after taking out Cafu, but France still won 3-0 against Brazil. Zinedine Zidane scored twice in that final and later won the Ballon d'Or, but earlier in the tournament he was sent off for stamping on a Saudi player. In the 2006 final, Zidane head-butted Italy's Marco Materazzi (who had been sent off earlier in the tournament), becoming the second Frenchman dismissed in a final.
Historical firsts
The first sending off at a World Cup came on the second day of the inaugural tournament in 1930. Peru captain Plácido Galindo received his marching orders in a 3-1 defeat to Romania, though red cards were not introduced until 1970. The game was apparently littered with fights, one of which had to be broken up by the police.
Nearly a century later, Miguel Almirón made history by being sent off for covering his mouth while speaking to an opponent in a confrontational situation. This article is by Richard Foster, who presents the It Started With A Kick podcast and is writing a daily World Cup quiz on the Seventh Heaven app.
