Mexico’s long-awaited World Cup homecoming began with a win — and, just as importantly, with a statement.
Under a bright midday sun and a wall of green Thursday at Estadio Azteca, El Tri opened the first 48‑team World Cup with a resounding 2-0 victory over South Africa, easing some of the pressure on a team and a country desperate to make the most of playing on home turf.
With temperatures around 24 degrees Celsius (75 Fahrenheit), Mexico dominated from the start, feeding off the noise of more than 80,000 fans and pinning Bafana Bafana (the South Africa team) deep in its own half.
The first goal came inside nine minutes, when South African midfielder Sphephelo “Yaya” Sithole gave the ball away in a dangerous area.
Colombian-born Julián Quiñones, who became eligible for Mexico after naturalizing while playing in Liga MX, pounced and drove a low shot through the goalkeeper’s legs to make it 1-0.
The 29-year-old forward, now with Al‑Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia after leaving Club América in 2024, arrived as the Saudi Pro League’s top scorer with 33 goals in 31 games last season.
Mexico carved out a series of chances before halftime, including a shot that clanged off the right post, but the score remained 1-0.
Four minutes into the second half, Sithole was shown a red card for hauling down a Mexican player, putting South Africa a man down. The 61st-ranked visitors already had their hands full against 13th‑ranked Mexico.
The second goal arrived in the 67th minute, with veteran striker Raúl Jiménez heading in the ball from close range. He then pointed to the sky with tears in his eyes after notching his first World Cup goal, having gone scoreless in six matches across the 2014, 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
It was his 46th for Mexico’s senior national team, putting the 35-year-old six short of Javier “Chicharito” Hernández’s all‑time mark of 52.
South Africa’s chances soured further when Themba Zwane was sent off for striking a Mexican player in the face, leaving Bafana Bafana with only nine players. Later, Mexico’s César Montes was also dismissed, making this the first World Cup opener ever to feature three red cards.
Mexico gave teenager Gilberto Mora his World Cup debut in the 66th minute. At 17 years, 240 days, he became the youngest Mexican man ever to appear at a World Cup and the sixth youngest ever (behind No. 5 Pelé).
Mexico’s starting goalkeeper was Raúl Rangel, 26, signaling a move toward the future. Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa, 41, is on Mexico’s World Cup roster for a record sixth time, but he watched from the bench.
Sharing the hosting duties with the United States and Canada, Mexico is staging the men’s World Cup for a record third time, after 1970 and 1986.
Estadio Azteca — rebranded by FIFA as Mexico City Stadium for the tournament — became the first venue to host matches at three men’s World Cups.
This is the first World Cup with 48 teams, split into 12 groups of four. The top two in every group, plus the eight best third‑place teams, advance to the newly formed Round of 32.
The tournament will run 39 days, with 104 matches in 16 cities; the U.S. hosts 78, while Mexico and Canada stage 13 each.
Mexico has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals, reaching that round only as host in 1970 and 1986.
From 1994 through 2018, it was eliminated in the Round of 16 at seven straight tournaments, then failed to get out of the group at Qatar 2022.
According to The Athletic’s World Cup Tracker, Mexico now has a 98% chance of making it out of Group A, which also includes South Korea and Czechia, who meet later Thursday in Guadalajara.
El Tri returns to action against South Korea in Guadalajara on June 18 and is back at Azteca on June 24 against Czechia. There will also be games in Monterrey, but El Tri won’t play there.
If Mexico wins the group, it could potentially remain in the country for knockout games in the next two rounds.
South Africa is playing in its first World Cup since it hosted in 2010, when its own opening game was a 1-1 draw against Mexico in Johannesburg. It has suffered three straight group-stage exits.
The game marked Mexico’s first win in a World Cup opener, after previously losing five and drawing two. It extended its current run under third-time head coach Javier “Vasco” Aguirre to seven wins and two draws in nine matches.
With reports from Associated Press, The Athletic, ESPN and Diario AS
