Mexico kicked off the 2026 World Cup in style, defeating South Africa 2-0 in a dramatic opening match at a packed Mexico City Stadium.
Julian Quinones etched his name into tournament history by scoring the first goal of the competition, while Raul Jimenez added an emotional second-half strike to secure all three points for the hosts.
However, the result was overshadowed by a chaotic finale that produced three red cards, leaving South Africa with nine men and Mexico ending the match with 10.
The atmosphere inside the stadium was electric long before kick-off, and Mexico fed off that energy from the opening whistle.
Javier Aguirre’s side dominated possession early on and almost found the breakthrough within five minutes. Jimenez was afforded far too much space inside the penalty area and met a dangerous cross first time, but Ronwen Williams reacted superbly to push the effort away and keep the scores level.
Mexico’s pressure continued to build and the breakthrough arrived in the ninth minute thanks to a costly South African mistake. A simple pass from Williams into Sphephelo Sithole invited trouble, and Erik Lira pounced to win possession on the edge of the box.
The loose ball fell perfectly for Quinones, who calmly slotted through the goalkeeper’s legs to score the first goal of the World Cup and send the home crowd into celebration.
Mexico push on after opener
The early setback left South Africa rattled and Mexico looked capable of adding a second. Roberto Alvarado repeatedly found space down the right flank, while Brian Gutierrez and Alvaro Fidalgo dictated play in midfield.
Despite Mexico’s dominance, they were unable to fully capitalise before the break. Quinones remained the biggest threat and nearly doubled his tally when his low drive struck the foot of the post after a scramble inside the area.
Moments later, Jimenez was denied again by another excellent Williams save after latching onto a clipped pass into the box.
South Africa gradually improved as the half wore on and finally registered their first shot on target through Siyabonga Mbokazi, whose curling effort was comfortably gathered by Raul Rangel.
Second-half sparks
The second half exploded into life almost immediately. Just moments after the restart, Williams’ distribution once again caused problems when a loose pass was intercepted on the edge of the area. South Africa escaped on that occasion, but the warning signs were there.
Three minutes later, disaster struck for Hugo Broos’ side. Gutierrez raced clear on goal after another Mexican attack and Sithole desperately clipped his heels just outside the penalty area.
The challenge denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity, leaving the referee with little choice but to produce the first red card of the tournament.
The second goal came in the 67th minute. Quinones showed excellent composure to retain possession before releasing Alvarado down the right. The winger delivered a pinpoint cross into the centre, where Jimenez rose highest to guide a powerful header beyond Williams.
South Africa’s frustrations began to boil over as the game entered its closing stages. First, substitute Themba Zwane was shown a straight red card following a VAR review. Initially overlooked by the referee, replays showed the midfielder catching Alvarado in the face while attempting to shrug him away.
Red cards galore
The chaos continued deep into stoppage time. South Africa briefly threatened on the counterattack despite being two players down, but Cesar Montes cynically brought down Khuliso Mudau just outside the penalty area with the visitors breaking forward in numbers.
The foul denied a clear goalscoring opportunity and resulted in a third red card of the evening, leaving Mexico to finish with 10 men as well.
Even with the late dismissal, there was never any danger of Mexico surrendering their lead. Aguirre’s side controlled possession through the final minutes and comfortably saw out the remaining time before the referee brought an eventful World Cup opener to a close.
