- It’s El Tri 2 vs Bafana Bafana 0 in dream tournament opener
Mexico flagged-off their 2026 World Cup campaign in spectacular fashion at the Azteca, with Julián Quiñones netting the tournament opener and a tearful Raúl Jiménez ending his long wait for a World Cup goal to dispatch nine-man South Africa
El Tri’s perfect start as the co-hosts saw them emerging victorious with a 2-0 win over their counterparts, Bafana Bafana in the opening game of the tournament on Thursday to cement their place as the Group A favourites.
In a game that featured three red cards in the second half, Mexico almost went ahead inside the opening five minutes after Israel Reyes picked out Jimenez on the edge of the penalty area, but his first-time finish was well parried by Ronwen Williams.
However, the Mexicans did not have to wait long to break the deadlock as Erik Lira won possession 20 yards out, and Quinones easily ran onto the ball to fire through Williams’ legs after just nine minutes of play.
Coach Javier Aguirre’s team continued to create the better chances before half-time, as Quinones hit the post with a low effort before Bryan Gutierrez sliced a shot wide after being played in behind by Quinones.
The South Africans’ hopes of mounting a dramatic second-half comeback were abruptly shattered when midfielder Sphephelo Sithole was shown a straight red card. As Mexico’s Brian Gutiérrez beelined toward the penalty area with only the goalkeeper to beat, Sithole desperately hauled him down, leaving the referee no choice but to send him off for denying a clear scoring opportunity.
Down to 10 men, Bafana Bafana’s resistance finally broke midway through the period. Veteran striker Raúl Jiménez timed his run perfectly to evade the defense, rising high into the air to meet Roberto Alvarado’s pinpoint cross and heading home to cap off his first World Cup start with a storybook goal.
South Africa’s tournament opener rapidly unraveled into chaos as the night went from bad to worse when the referee flashed a red card at Themba Zwane inside the Estadio Azteca. Zwane was penalised following a VAR review for striking Roberto Alvarado in the face.
Interestingly, the drama further deepened moments later when Mexican captain Cesar Montes was also sent off by the referee. He was dismissed for a reckless, late tackle on South Africa’s Khuliso Mudau.
Now Coach Aguirre will be without one of his defensive leaders against South Korea, who, on paper, look like the most experienced and dangerous opponent in the group. Montes is not just another center back in Mexico’s rotation, he is one of the players trusted to organize the back line and handle the physical demands of World Cup matches.
