The opening match of the historic 2026 FIFA World Cup offered a striking sense of déjà vu for football fans, perfectly mirroring the curtain-raiser from 16 years ago. Just as they did at South Africa 2010, Mexico and Bafana Bafana walked out to contest the tournament’s first fixture. This time, however, the co-hosts left absolutely nothing to chance, securing a commanding 2-0 victory in front of a capacity crowd at the iconic Estadio Azteca.

Spurred on by a passionate, capacity audience in Mexico City, El Tri seized the initiative from the first whistle. Raúl Jiménez squandered a golden opportunity to break the deadlock after just four minutes, failing to beat the goalkeeper from close range following a dangerous right-wing cross.

The home fans did not have to wait long for the breakthrough, though. In the ninth minute, a catastrophic defensive error from Sphephelo Sithole near his own box allowed Julián Quiñones to pounce, slotting home through the keeper's legs to write his name into the history books as the scorer of the first goal of the 2026 World Cup. Quiñones nearly doubled his tally before the interval, but his fine effort struck the woodwork.

South Africa's task became even more difficult just five minutes after the restart. Sithole completed a disastrous afternoon, turning from a defensive liability into the ultimate villain after hauling down Brian Gutiérrez just outside the area. The referee immediately brandished a straight red card, reducing the visitors to ten men.

With the numerical advantage secured, Mexico ruthlessly dictated the tempo. Their dominance was rewarded in the 67th minute when Roberto Alvarado delivered a pinpoint cross from the right flank, allowing an unmarked Raúl Jiménez to power a header into the back of the net to make it 2-0 and tie Jared Borgetti for second place in Mexico's all-time scoring charts.

While the result felt secure, a dramatic finale ensured a historic piece of World Cup trivia. South Africa's Themba Zwane was dismissed following a VAR review for striking an opponent, reducing his side to nine men. Deep into stoppage time, Mexican captain César Montes picked up a straight red card of his own for a cynical challenge on Khuliso Mudau to halt a late breakaway. It marked the first time in World Cup history that an opening match witnessed three red cards.

The victory moves Mexico to the top of Group A. El Tri will look to build on their dream start when they face South Korea on 19 June, while a heavily depleted South Africa side must regroup ahead of a crucial encounter with Czechia.

World Cup 2026

Mexico - RSA 2:0 (1:0)
Goals: Quiñones J., 9 (1:0); Raul Jimenez, 67 (2:0)

Mexico: Rangel; Reyes; Montes (till 92); Vasquez J-n; Lira (Alvarez Ed., 76); Fidalgo (Mora G., 66); Gallardo; Alvarado; Gutiérrez (Chávez L., 66); Raul Jimenez (González Ar., 76); Quiñones J. (Vega A., 79)
Substitution: Chávez L. (from 66); Mora G. (from 66); Alvarez Ed. (from 76); González Ar. (from 76); Vega A. (from 79)
Bench: Acevedo; Ochoa; Sanchez J.; Chavez M.; Romo; Vargas Ob.; Pineda O.; Gimenez S.; Martínez G.; Huerta
Yellow Cards: Gutiérrez 23
Red cards: Montes 92'

RSA: Williams Ro.; Mudau; Mbokazi; Sibisi; Okon; Modiba (Appollis, 77); Mokoena; Sithole (till 50); Adams J. (Zwane, 61); Foster L. (Mbatha, 56); Rayners (Makgopa, 77)
Substitution: Mbatha (from 56); Zwane (from 61 till 84); Appollis (from 77); Makgopa (from 77)
Bench: Chaine; Goss; Matuludi; Sebelebele; Ndamane; Makhanya; Kabini; Cross; Moremi; Mofokeng; Maseko
Yellow Cards: Mokoena 17; Sibisi 74
Red cards: Sithole 50', Zwane 84'