Mexico have kicked off their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with a win over South Africa. The hosts eased to a win at the Mexico City Stadium, with goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez.
The Wolverhampton star had the first shot of the match early, when he found himself in a lot of space just inside the box. He hit a powerful low shot, but Ronwen Williams did well to stop his effort.
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Bafana Bafana started the game slowly, trying to control the tempo, but committed too many errors at the back and couldn’t come back. The first error came from S’Miso Sithole, who was dispossessed at the edge of the box by Erik Lira. The South African was trying to control the ball that was sent his way by the goalkeeper, but could not do much before the Mexican was on his back.
The ball fell to Quinones, and he took his time before shooting straight into the goal. The ball went through the goalkeeper’s legs after the defenders blocked his view.
Quinones came close to doubling the lead just before halftime, but his shot came off the post, and the scoreline remained the same. Mexico and South Africa came close to scoring in the final minutes of the half, but neither could find the back of the net, and it remained 1-0 at halftime of the FIFA World Cup opener.
South Africa help Mexico collect all three points in FIFA World Cup opener
South Africa came out after the break knowing they were 1-0 down and needed to score an equaliser to level things. However, they were down to 10 men instead, with Sithole getting sent off five minutes into the second half.
Brian Gutiérrez was put through on goal, and he did well to put himself between the ball and the South African defender. Just before he entered the box, there was clear contact between the two players, and the referee sent off Sithole.
Things got worse for the 2010 hosts, as Jimenez made it 2-0 just 16 minutes later. The striker headed the ball in off a beautiful cross from Roberto Alvarado.
South Africa still kept pushing for a goal, but Themba Zwane was given the marching orders after VAR spotted him punching Alvarado. The nine men kept pushing but failed to get a goal back.
However, they also managed to get a Mexican player sent off, after Cesar Montes stopped a counterattack near the box. The game was the first time three red cards were shown in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup.In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, only four red cards were show, but we have three after just one match in 2026.
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Edited by Sripad