Mexico beats South Africa 2-0 in World Cup opener at Estadio Azteca

Mexico opened the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 2-0 win over South Africa on Thursday at Estadio Azteca, starting the expanded tournament with a home victory in a match that also produced three red cards.

Julián Quiñones put Mexico ahead in the ninth minute, and the hosts largely controlled the opener from there. South Africa’s Sphephelo Sithole was sent off in the 49th minute, leaving his team down a player early in the second half. Raúl Jiménez doubled Mexico’s lead with a header in the 66th minute. The game then turned more ill-tempered late, with South Africa captain Themba Zwane dismissed in the 84th minute and Mexico defender César Montes shown a red card in stoppage time at 90+2.

The announced attendance was 80,824, a capacity crowd for the opening match of the men’s World Cup. The 2026 tournament, co-hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada, runs from June 11 to July 19 and is the first men’s World Cup with 48 teams. Mexico City staged the first match on FIFA’s schedule, putting one of the sport’s most historic venues at the center of the tournament’s start.

Quiñones, 29, was one of six Mexico starters making a World Cup debut. The forward was born in Colombia and later naturalized as Mexican, and he arrived at the tournament after finishing as the Saudi league’s top scorer this season. Jiménez’s goal was his 46th for Mexico, tying Jared Borgetti for second on the national team’s all-time scoring list. He remains six goals behind Javier “Chicharito” Hernández.

The matchup repeated the pairing from the 2010 World Cup opener, which also featured Mexico and South Africa. It also added another milestone for Estadio Azteca, which became the first stadium to host three World Cup opening matches, having previously done so in 1970 and 1986.

South Africa’s appearance marked its first World Cup finals since 2010. But its return began with defeat against a Mexico side that took control early and added a second goal after gaining a numerical advantage.

Mexico next plays South Korea in Guadalajara on June 18. South Africa will face the Czech Republic in Atlanta the same day.