Ten-man World Cup co-host Mexico defeated nine-man South Africa 2-0 in the first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the Azteca stadium.
The Mexicans continued the party after the likes of Shakira and Nigeria’s Burna Boy serenaded fans, with Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez netting in each half to punish Hugo Broos’ naive team.
Mexico breaks a 96-year opening match curse with the win, securing their first ever opening match victory in any tournament.
It also extended their unbeaten streak at the Azteca stadium to eight matches- six wins and two draws.
The match ended with three red cards, representing the first time ever a world cup opening match will feature three red cards, and the first time in 20 years that a World Cup match will witness three red cards.
FIFA President Ganni Infantino was in the stadium as Mexico asserted their dominance early and needed Ronwen Williams to deny Jimenez, but the Bafana Bafana self-destruct to hand the co-host the opener on nine minutes.
South Africa’s attempt to play out from the back was foiled and Quinones slammed a low shot through Williams’ legs for 1-0 to El Tricolor.
It is Mexico’s earliest goal in the World Cup since Rafael Marquez’s sixth-minute strike in 2006, and they could have scored more in the first half but were denied by the post as the scoreline remained one-nil at halftime.
South Africa, one of 10 Africa representatives, imploded in the second half with two red cards. First, defender Yaya Sithole got a straight red card for a last-ditch foul of Brian Gutierrez on 49 minutes, while Themba Zwane got the second dismissal in the 84th minutes.
In between both dismissals, Jimenez capitalized on the man advantage with a back post header from Roberto Alvarado’s expert cross to double Mexico’s lead, the 35-year-old netting his first ever World Cup goal in his fourth tournament, and also became the joint-second all-time goalscorer for Mexico with 46 goals.
Despite defender Cesar Montes getting a straight red for denying a goalscoring opportunity, Mexico saw off the rest of the match to go top of Group A with three points, South Africa at the bottom without a point.