Mexico defeated South Africa 2–0 in an ill-tempered FIFA World Cup opener at Estadio Azteca, with goals from Quinones and Jimenez.
IMAGE: Julian Quinones, left, celebrates with team-mate Israel Reyes after scoring Mexico’s first goal against South Africa in the FIFA World Cup opener in Mexico City on Thursday. Photograph: Hannah Mckay/Reuters
Key Points
- Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in the FIFA World Cup 2026 opener with goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez.
- The match saw three players — South Africa’s Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane, and Mexico’s Cesar Montes — receiving straight red cards.
- Quinones’s ninth minute strike is the earliest goal in a FIFA World Cup opener since 2006.
- Mexico next meet South Korea, while South Africa will play Czechia.
Mexico got the World Cup party started as the co-hosts swept away South Africa 2-0 on Thursday in an encounter with three red cards as the quadrennial football extravaganza got underway at the Azteca stadium.
Julian Quinones’s early strike set the tone for a dominant Mexican display in the Group A encounter with Raul Jimenez’s header midway through the second half removing any lingering tension for the home crowd.
IMAGE: Mexico’s Raul Jimenez celebrates scoring their second goal. Photograph: Pawel Kopczynski/Reuters
Yet the match will be remembered as much for the three dismissals, with South Africa having Sphephelo Sithole sent off early in the second half, with his teammate Themba Zwane following him off the pitch before Mexico’s Cesar Montes was dismissed in the dying moments.
The ill-tempered encounter spoiled an otherwise party atmosphere, yet the home crowd got to celebrate an opening victory that will set them up nicely to make it out of a group that also includes South Korea and the Czech Republic.
IMAGE: South Africa’s Sphephelo Sithole is shown a red card by referee Wilton Sampaio. Photograph: Hannah Mckay/Reuters
The game was barely minutes old when Jimenez stung the fingertips of South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams with a volley from 12 yards, but the tournament’s opening goal was not long in coming.
Sithole was robbed on the edge of his own box by Erik Lira, preferred in the heart of midfield to captain Edson Alvarez, and he quickly fed Quinones who danced inside before drilling a low finish beneath Williams.
IMAGE: Julian Quinones scores the opening goal. Photograph: Hannah Mckay/Reuters
It took 35 minutes for South Africa to even vaguely threaten the Mexico goal when Lyle Foster glanced a header wide, yet as the first half drew to a close Hugo Broos’s side were clinging on for dear life.
First Jimenez wafted a foot at an inswinging cross to draw a fine save from Williams before Quinones struck the post from close range with the goal at his mercy and Brian Gutierrez pushed an effort wide when he should have done better.
IMAGE: Mexico’s Raul Jimenez scores their second goal. Photograph: Pawel Kopczynski/Reuters
The second half began in a similar vein and it was Gutierrez who drew the first red card when his marauding run towards the box was stopped in its tracks by Sithole, whose clumsy tackle from behind earned him his marching orders to complete a miserable afternoon’s work for the midfielder.
The crowd had begun to get a little restless at Mexico’s failure to turn their numerical advantage into another goal but that frustration was relieved when Jimenez bagged his first World Cup goal, with a powerful downward header past Williams from a devilish cross by Roberto Alvarado.
IMAGE: Julian Quinones celebrates with his team-mates. Photograph: Hannah Mckay/Reuters
The game’s finale was dominated by the dismissals with Zwane sent off after a VAR check for a supposed arm to the face while Montes was sent off for Mexico for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
Mexico face South Korea in Guadalajara on Thursday, while South Africa play Czechia.
Mexico Leave Out Captain Alvarez
Earlier Mexico coach Javier Aguirre made two major selection calls for their opening game, leaving captain Edson Alvarez and veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa out of the starting XI.
Aguirre opted to start Raul Rangel in goal, denying Ochoa what would have been a sixth World Cup appearance. Captain Alvarez was also named among the substitutes, with Erik Lira selected to start in central midfield alongside Alvaro Fidalgo and Brian Gutierrez.
South Africa, meanwhile, were led by captain Ronwen Williams in goal. Coach Hugo Broos named a side largely made up of players from Mamelodi Sundowns, with Lyle Foster spearheading the attack.
