- Full Time
- C. Montes90 + 2'
- 84'T. Zwane Card upgraded by VAR
- A. Vega on for J. Quiñones79'
- 77'O. Appollis on for A. Modiba
- 76'E. Makgopa on for I. Rayners
- A. González on for R. Jiménez76'
- E. Álvarez on for É. Lira76'
- 74'N. Sibisi
- R. Jiménez67'
- G. Mora on for Á. Fidalgo66'
- L. Chávez on for B. Gutiérrez66'
- 61'T. Zwane on for J. Adams
- 56'T. Mbatha on for L. Foster
- 49'Y. Sithole
- Half Time
- B. Gutiérrez23'
- 17'T. Mokoena
- J. Quiñones9'
- Kick Off
-
1
Raúl Jiménez1 - 2Julián Quiñones1
- 1Julián Quiñones5
- 2Brian Gutiérrez4
- 3Raúl Jiménez4
- 1
Khuliso Mudau3 - 2Érik Lira2
- 3Mbekezeli Mbokazi1
- 1Érik Lira1
- 2Roberto Alvarado1
- 1Brian Gutiérrez3
- 2Raúl Jiménez2
- 3Julián Quiñones2
- 1Johan Vásquez75
- 2César Montes60
- 3Ime Okon45
- 1Julián Quiñones5
- 2Roberto Alvarado2
- 3Gilberto Mora1
- 1Jesús Gallardo3
- 2Teboho Mokoena2
- 3Mbekezeli Mbokazi1
Mexico kicked off the 2026 World Cup in style, comfortably beating South Africa in a 2-0 win for the tournament’s joint-hosts.
The brilliant Julian Quinones gave Javier Aguirre’s side the lead inside nine minutes after Yaya Sithole was caught on the ball and allowed Erik Lira to capitalise before playing his teammate in. Mexico looked comfortable from hereon out, exposing the sizeable gulf in quality; six of South Africa’s starting line-up play for Mamelodi Sundowns, their country’s equivalent of a super club.
Mexico probed a couple more times before the break, with Raul Jimenez forcing a strong save from Ronwen Williams before Quinones’ side-footed shot came back square off the face of the post.
Red cards send records tumbling
Yaya Sithole’s evening went from bad to worse just five minutes into the second half when his unnecessary tactical foul on Brian Gutierrez left referee Wilton Sampaio with no other choice than to give him his marching orders. Sithole’s decision denied the Mexican a goalscoring opportunity and subsequently left his team in the lurch, leaving no real room for debate.
Gilberto Mora became the sixth-youngest player in World Cup history making an appearance at the tender age of 17 years and 240 days. Just a minute later, Raul Jimenez was in tears after scoring his first World Cup goal with a lovely run and header that convincingly beat Williams in goal.
The game’s real talking point emerged after the 80th-minute mark when Themba Zwane’s red card perplexingly reduced South Africa to nine men. This was the first World Cup game with multiple red cards since Portugal vs Netherlands in 2006 – a game that saw four sending offs.
Finally, the referee dismissed Mexico captain Cesar Montes for chopping down Khuliso Mudau and denying a goalscoring opportunity. The decision proved similarly divisive and just about epitomised what people will remember this particular game for.
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