🎥 Hosts Mexico beat South Africa in 2026 World Cup opener | OneFootball

The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off this Thursday (11) with Mexico — one of the tournament’s hosts, alongside the United States and Canada — defeating South Africa 2-0 at the iconic Azteca Stadium.

The match, refereed by Wilton Pereira Sampaio, featured three red cards. 

This was the first opening-match win for El Tri after five previous attempts: 1930, 1950, 1958, 1970, and 2010.

Mexico’s victory started taking shape early, with Julián Quiñones opening the scoring in under 10 minutes.

Just after halftime, Sithole was shown a straight red card, making Mexico’s task easier.

It was the first red card in an opening match since Bolivia’s Etcheverry against Germany in 1994. But it would not be the only one.

Late in the match, veteran Jiménez gave the hosts some breathing room.

Zwane then left the Bafana Bafana down to nine men after a violent challenge. 

But there was also a red card on the other side, after Montes brought down Mudau deep into stoppage time. 

Later this Thursday (11), at 11 p.m. Brasília time, Czechia and South Korea face off to wrap up the first round of Group A.

Next Thursday (18), Mexico will return to the field to face South Korea.

On the same day, South Africa will try to bounce back against Czechia.  

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 Carl Recine - 2026 Getty Images