By Reuters and published by CNA
MEXICO CITY: Mexico got the World Cup party started as the co-hosts swept away South Africa 2-0 on Thursday (June 11) in an encounter with three red cards as the pyrotechnic smoke of the opening ceremony gave way to a cloud of red mist at a thrumming Azteca stadium.
The match fired the starting gun for the quadrennial football extravaganza, yet the scrappy encounter will likely be remembered not for its thrilling football but for its flurry of dismissals.
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.
Yet South Africa were reduced to 10 men when Sphephelo Sithole was 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.
“It’s a moment I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life,” said Mexico midfielder Erik Lira. “The only thing I felt was that everything it took to get here had been worth it.”
Day of firsts
It was a day of firsts for the World Cup, as the first 48-team edition, and the first to be held in three countries, got underway in the first stadium to host three World Cup openers.
It was fitting therefore that the first of a record 104 matches had Mexico clinch a first win in the tournament’s opening match after seven previous failures and of course, it was the first World Cup opener to feature three red cards.
The fixture was a repeat of the 2010 tournament opener, when South Africa held Mexico to a 1-1 draw in Johannesburg, yet this encounter was played out in a stadium with World Cup history stamped all over it.
The Azteca has witnessed some of the tournament’s most iconic moments, from Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ and 1986 heroics to Pele’s all-conquering Brazil side of 1970.
While there was none of that era-defining quality on show on Thursday, it mattered little to the hordes of green-clad supporters, who had already been revved into frenzied excitement before a ball was kicked.
With the match played against a backdrop of protests that had threatened to bring Mexico City to a standstill, supporters were taking no chances, with many already hovering around the stadium nearly seven hours before kickoff.
Mexico gets off to fast start
An opening ceremony that featured Shakira and Burna Boy performing the World Cup anthem had pumped up the crowd still further before Mexico swiftly got down to business.
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 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.
South Africa were clinging on for dear life as the first half came to a close and the second began in a similar vein.
Brian Gutierrez 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.
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.
CAPTIONS:
Top – Mexico’s Raul Jimenez scores their second goal, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico, on June 11 2026. Photo: Reuters/Hannah Mckay and published by CNA
First insert – Mexico’s Raul Jimenez celebrates scoring their second goal against South Africa, in the FIFA World Cup in Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico, on June 11, 2026. Photo: Reuters/Pawel Kopczynski and published by CNA
Second insert – Mexico’s Julian Quinones celebrates scoring their first goal with Roberto Alvarado and Israel Reyes, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico, on Jun 11, 2026. Photo: Reuters/Raquel Cunha and published by CNA
Third insert – Referee Wilton Sampaio walks past Mexico’s Israel Reyes as he reaches for a red card to send off South Africa’s Themba Zwane, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico, on June 11, 2026. Photo: Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach and published by CNA
Front Page – Mexico’s Brian Gutierrez in action in the FIFA World Cup match against South Africa, in Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico on June 11, 2026. Photo: Reuters/Raquel Cunha and published by CNA
Watch vidoes shared on X.com, first one shared by
BanterBallHQ, second one by Blair MacKay @BlairMacKay17
https://x.com/BanterBallHQ/status/2065163893002129824/video/1
https://x.com/BlairMacKay17/status/1856800466006331715/video/1
Also read:
MonoMax unveils World Cup 2026 package price after Jasmine secured broadcasting rights
Ex-deputy House speaker politically banned for life due to illegal forest land grab
Analysis-Thai farm debt crisis deepens in early test for Anutin’s government
Analysis: Most Thais have given up on buying a home, 56% not doing so for 5 years
Parolee-turned-free Thaksin leaving for Dubai
China has delivered 39 T-59D tanks to Cambodia: Diplomat
NACC, EC asked to probe ‘Do help the Blue’ scandals
Administrative Court asked to rule over govt’s 18.8 billion baht add-on budget for the poor
Ad hoc panel sought to probe NACC’s failure over Saksayam’s asset concealment case
Veteran US journalist laments the Lost Horizons of Asia and America
