Mexico began their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with a convincing 2-0 win over South Africa in the tournament’s opening match at the iconic Azteca Stadium on Thursday night.
Playing in front of a passionate home crowd, the co-hosts delivered an assured performance to claim three important Group A points. Goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez secured the victory in a match that also featured three red cards.
Julian Quinones once again proved his importance for Mexico by producing a decisive display in attack. The forward opened the scoring after just nine minutes, capitalising on a defensive mistake before calmly finishing through Ronwen Williams’ legs.
The goal was the earliest opening strike in a FIFA World Cup since Philipp Lahm scored for Germany in 2006. Quinones remained Mexico’s most dangerous attacking threat throughout the first half and later struck the post as Javier Aguirre’s side pushed for a second goal.
Mexico had already shown their attacking intent moments earlier when Raul Jimenez forced Williams into an early save.
South Africa struggled to recover after falling behind and suffered a major setback shortly after the restart.
Yaya Sithole received a straight red card in the 49th minute after bringing down Brian Gutierrez while denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. The dismissal handed Mexico even greater control of the contest.
The pressure eventually paid off when Raul Jimenez scored Mexico’s second goal. Roberto Alvarado delivered an inviting cross, and the experienced striker finished at the back post to register his first-ever FIFA World Cup finals goal.
South Africa’s difficult evening worsened late in the match when substitute Themba Zwane was shown a straight red card for violent conduct following an altercation with Alvarado.
Mexico’s captain Cesar Montes also saw red in stoppage time after a challenge on Khuliso Mudau, but the dismissal had little impact on the result.
Despite the late incident, Mexico comfortably saw out the victory and extended their unbeaten record in FIFA World Cup opening matches to eight games.
The result places mexico in a strong early position in Group A, while South Africa must quickly regroup ahead of their next fixture after a disappointing start to the tournament.
© Bold Sports Media. All rights reserved. If sharing, kindly credit Bold Sports as the source and include a link to the original post. Unauthorised use is prohibited.
