By Tanmay Sharma.
Photo Credit: The Suncity News:
New Delhi, June 12, 2026: Co-hosts Mexico kicked off the 2026 FIFA World Cup in emphatic fashion, defeating South Africa 2-0 in the opening match of the tournament at the Mexico City Stadium.
The match was played between these two teams at 12.30 am IST on Friday.
Backed by a passionate home crowd, the Mexican side produced a commanding display to begin their World Cup campaign on a winning note.
Goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez secured the victory for Mexico in a match where South Africa struggled to cope with the hosts’ intensity and eventually finished with nine men after two red cards.
Grand opening ceremony at Mexico City Stadium marks start of historic tournament:
Before kick-off, a colourful opening ceremony officially inaugurated the biggest FIFA World Cup in history.
Renowned Spanish actress Salma Hayek and FIFA President Gianni Infantino formally opened the tournament, while the World Cup Trophy was presented before thousands of cheering fans inside the stadium.
The 2026 edition marks the first World Cup featuring 48 teams and is being jointly hosted by Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
Mexico began the contest aggressively and quickly took control of possession and attacking momentum.
Their positive approach paid off in just the ninth minute when Julian Quinones broke through South African defence and calmly slotted home, and the opening goal to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Even after scoring, Mexico continued to dictate the tempo and pressed South Africa relentlessly across all areas of the pitch.
South Africa’s frustrations began too early. Midfielder Teboho Mokoena received the tournament’s first yellow card in the 17th minute following a reckless challenge.
A hydration break was taken in the 25th minute due to warm conditions, but the pause did little to alter the flow of the match.
South Africa struggled to create meaningful opportunities and entered halftime trailing 1-0 after four minutes of added time.
Red cards derail South Africa’s hopes:
The second half started badly for the African site.
In the 49th minute, Siphelo Sithole was shown a straight red card after bringing down Erik Gutierrez just outside the penalty area while the Mexican midfielder was advancing toward the goal.
Reduced to 10 men, South Africa found themselves under sustained pressure as Mexico pushed forward in search of a second goal.
The host eventually doubled their lead in the 67th minute when veteran striker Raul Jimenez finished clinically after another well-worked attracting move.
A second hydration break followed as temperatures remained challenging for the players.
South Africa’s difficult evening worsened further in the 84th minute. After a VAR review, referee officials determined that Themba Zwane had struck Roberto Alvarado off the ball, resulting in a second red card for South Africa.
Down to nine players, South Africa’s hopes of mounting a comeback effectively disappeared.
Late red card for Mexico:
Mexico also ended the match with ten men after defender Cesar Montes received a red card in stoppage time (90+2 minutes) for fouling Khuliso Mudau.
However, the dismissal had no impact on the final outcome.
At the final whistle, Mexico celebrated a convincing victory to begin their home World Cup campaign in ideal fashion.
The result placed Mexico in a strong early position in the group stage, while South Africa will face a difficult road ahead after suffering defeat and losing two key players to suspension for their next fixture.
Also Read: Messi vs Ronaldo: Could football’s greatest rivals meet one final time at the FIFA World Cup 2026?
EOM.
