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Mexico kicked off the by defeating South Africa 2-0 this Thursday at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, in the inaugural match of the tournament jointly hosted by Mexico, the United States, and Canada. El Tri asserted its dominance over the Bafana Bafana in a match that will be remembered in the history books of football.
The start couldn't have been better for the home team. In the 9th minute, Julián Quiñones —the Colombian forward naturalized Mexican who plays for Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia— took advantage of a high-pressure recovery to finish and score the first goal of the match and the 2026 World Cup. Quiñones, the top scorer of the Saudi Pro League 2025-26 with 33 goals, demonstrated from the outset why he was called up by Javier Aguirre for the World Cup.
South Africa tried to respond, but the match became definitively complicated for them at the beginning of the second half: Y. Sithole was sent off between minutes 49 and 50, leaving the Bafana Bafana with ten players at the most critical moment of the game.
Mexico did not waste their numerical advantage. In the 67th minute, Raúl Jiménez sealed the score with a header for 2-0, as described by Deportes TVC: "Raúl Jiménez scores the second for the home team with a header." The forward was substituted just nine minutes later, amidst the applause of Azteca.
The statistics reflected Mexico's dominance throughout the 90 minutes: 58% possession compared to South Africa's 42%, 16 shots (four on target) against just three from the Africans (two on target), and three corners to one. Regarding cards, Mexico received one yellow (B. Gutiérrez, min. 23), while South Africa accumulated two yellows—T. Mokoena in the 17th minute and N. Sibisi in the 74th—along with the red card that influenced the course of the match.
The victory holds historic value that goes beyond the scoreline. Mexico broke its poor streak in World Cup opening matches by winning this encounter for the first time. Additionally, the Azteca Stadium hosted its third World Cup opening match, following those in 1970 and 1986, establishing itself as the most iconic venue in the tournament's history.
This is joined by another noteworthy piece of information: Mexico and South Africa repeated the matchup that opened the World Cup in 2010, marking the first time in history that the same clash inaugurates two different World Cups. On that occasion, both teams drew 1-1 in Johannesburg with goals from Siphiwe Tshabalala and Rafael Márquez. Sixteen years later, the narrative was very different.
With these three points, Mexico leads Group A after the first round. The group also includes South Korea and the Czech Republic, who also played their first match this Thursday. South Africa, aiming to advance beyond the group stage for the first time in its fourth World Cup appearance, begins with zero points and faces an urgent need to respond in the upcoming group matches.
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