The 2026 World Cup got underway on Thursday night as co-hosts Mexico faced South Africa at the Azteca.
The famous stadium provided the perfect location to kick off the summer showpiece. Bafana Bafana, however, were hopelessly outnumbered in the stands.
In this article, we’ll cover:
And it translated to a fine tournament-opening performance from El Tri. Just as South Africa used the crowd to claim victory on home turf 16 years ago, Mexico did similar. Raul Jimenez had the first real chance of the game, forcing Ronwen Williams into a smart stop early on, before Julian Quinones fired Mexico ahead with just nine minutes on the clock.
Yaya Sithole was caught in possession by Erik Lira, who fed in to Quinones to score the first goal of the World Cup. As the clash began to settle, Jimenez again tested Williams, who was equal to the Wolves man’s effort, while Quinones struck the woodwork moments later.
However, South Africa’s day went from bad to worse five minutes after the interval as Sithole received his marching orders for a last-man foul on Brian Gutierrez. The game itself was settled as a contest midway through the second half as Jimenez doubled the co-hosts advantage with his first ever World Cup goal.
South Africa were then reduced to nine man as Themba Zwane was dismissed following a VAR review. Mexico received a red card of their own in second half stoppage time as centre-back Cesar Montes was sent off, though that shouldn’t take the shine off a solid tournament opener for the co-hosts.
Johan Vasquez distribution key
A solid distributor at club level, Johan Vasquez was instrumental to the way Mexico dominated on Thursday night. The Genoa centre-back completed more passes (75) than any other player in Mexico’s 2-0 win over South Africa. He mustered a 92.6% pass accuracy in the process.
The co-hosts dominated proceedings against the African nation. They enjoyed 60.5% possession, and it was Vasquez’s ability to find a teammate that was essential.
Of course, in Mexico City in front of a fervent home crowd, Mexico were always going to dominate. That was made possible as Vasquez put in an assuring display at the heart of the defence. It enabled the central American powerhouse to control proceedings.
Mexico overloaded the left side
And in starting on the left side of the defence, it wasn’t a surprise to see Mexico overload the left flank as they eased past South Africa. 45% of their attacks came down the left flank compared to just 31% on the right.
Teboho Mokoena, who started on the right of South Africa’s central midfield three, failed to complete either of his two attempted tackles. Khuliso Mudau fared better, returning an 80% success rate from five attempts.
Even so, the plan was clearly to get winger Quinones on the ball as much as possible. Not only did the 29-year-old score and hit the post against South Africa. He also completed more take ons (5) than any other player.
The wideman also created two chances. Only Gutierrez (3) made more. The aim was to maximise Quinones’ willingness to find the space between the right-back and the central midfield. It was an approach that worked perfectly.
Any hope for South Africa?
When the lineups were announced, South Africa’s plan was clear for all to see. They aimed to sit deep, frustrate Mexico, and nick a goal on the counter attack. Their planning came undone in the opening exchanges.
And having been reduced to nine men after the break, Bafana Bafana’s quest to progress beyond the group stages becomes that much tricker. There will be a change in system and personnel for next week’s game against Czech Republic. South Africa will be hoping they have enough time to implement a less reactive plan of attack.
Read more: