Quiñones and Jiménez sink South Africa as three red cards mark the World Cup opener
Mexico opened the 2026 World Cup with a 2-0 win over South Africa at a heaving Estadio Azteca, on a night that ended with three players sent off.
Jun 11, 2026
Mexico got their home World Cup under way with a 2-0 win over South Africa at the Estadio Azteca, though the result barely captures a strange and bad-tempered opening night. The first match of the 2026 tournament finished with three players sent off, one of them a Mexican, and both teams limping to the whistle short of bodies. For the co-hosts, who stage the tournament alongside the United States and Canada, it was the perfect start wrapped in chaos.
Julián Quiñones made sure the crowd of more than 80,000 settled quickly. The forward, fresh off a golden-boot season in the Saudi Pro League, pounced on a loose ball at the edge of the box in the eighth minute and drove it past goalkeeper Ronwen Williams for the first goal of the tournament. Mexico had pressed South Africa into the mistake, and from there they bossed the half without ever pulling fully clear.
A full-circle moment for Jiménez
The second goal carried far more weight than the scoreline suggests. Raúl Jiménez climbed at the back post in the 67th minute to head home a cross, and the striker immediately broke down in tears. He pointed both hands to the sky and dedicated the goal to his father, Raúl Jiménez Vega, whose death the Mexican federation announced in March. It was Jiménez’s first goal at a World Cup, scored at the ground where he grew up around the game, and the Azteca roared for the man as loudly as for the result. By the time he scored, South Africa were already down to ten men.
Three red cards on the opening night
South Africa’s discipline deserted them either side of Jiménez’s goal. Sphephelo Sithole was the first to walk, shown a straight red early in the second half for hauling down a Mexico attack as the last defender. Themba Zwane followed in the closing stages, dismissed for an off-the-ball strike on Roberto Alvarado, confirmed by VAR, to leave his side with nine men. Mexico did not escape unpunished either, with defender César Montes collecting a red of his own deep in stoppage time. Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio had brandished three reds by the final whistle, the first time a World Cup opening match has produced that many.
Mexico set the early pace in Group A
The win puts Mexico top of Group A and gives Javier Aguirre’s side exactly the start they wanted on home soil. South Africa, back at a World Cup for the first time since they staged it in 2010, now face a steeper road and a suspension or two to absorb. South Korea and Czechia, the other pair in the group, begin their campaigns later.