Fifa World Cup: South Africa sees red as they lose 2-0 to Mexico in the opening game
Hosts Mexico kicked off the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a dramatic 2-0 victory over South Africa in a chaotic, card-heavy opening match at the Estadio Azteca
XtraTime Web Desk: Hosts Mexico kicked off the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a dramatic 2-0 victory over South Africa in a chaotic, card-heavy opening match at the Estadio Azteca. In front of a raucous home crowd of over 100,000 fans, Javier Aguirre’s men immediately asserted their dominance. The breakthrough came just nine minutes into the contest when in-form forward Julián Quiñones pounced on a costly defensive mistake by South Africa's Sphephelo "Yaya" Sithole.
Quiñones calmly slotted home a low finish to secure the earliest goal in a World Cup opener since 2006, giving El Tri a deserved 1-0 lead at the break.The match completely unraveled for South Africa just four minutes into the second half. Sithole's difficult night went from bad to worse when he lunged from behind to deny Brian Gutiérrez a clear goal-scoring opportunity. The referee immediately flashed a straight red card, making the midfielder the first player sent off in the 2026 tournament.
Sensing blood, Mexico pressed forward against the 10-man Bafana Bafana. In the 67th minute, Roberto Alvarado delivered a pinpoint cross into the box for veteran striker Raúl Jiménez, who directed a precise close-range header into the bottom left corner to double the hosts' lead.The closing stages devolved into absolute disciplinary anarchy as the match became the first World Cup game with multiple red cards since 2006. In the 83rd minute, a VAR review resulted in a second straight red card for South Africa, dismissing substitute Themba Zwane for violent conduct after he caught an opponent in the face. Not to be outdone, Mexico’s César Montes was also shown a straight red card deep in injury time for a heavy tackle on Khuliso Mudau, reducing El Tri to 10 men and capping off a wild 2-0 fixture that saw three total expulsions.
