The Mexican national team entered the match seeking to enhance its own record in the World Cup, as it is the team that has played the most opening matches in the history of the World Cup, as it played its eighth opening match, after seven previous occasions, according to what the British newspaper “The Guardian” reported.
Mexico started the match with clear pressure from the first minutes, and Raul Jimenez almost opened the scoring in the fifth minute, but the South African goalkeeper Williams blocked his attempt. The home team’s goal did not take long, as Julian Quiñones succeeded in scoring the first goal in the ninth minute, after a pass from Eric Lira, shooting the ball with his right foot into the net.
South Africa tried to return to the atmosphere of the match, but faced clear difficulties in keeping up with the Mexican team, while the latter continued to threaten the goal. In the 14th minute, Jimenez headed a ball that went wide of the post, before Quiñones tried his luck with a long shot in the 19th minute that went wide of the right post.
The first half witnessed two yellow cards, the first to South African Teboho Mokoena in the 17th minute, and the second to Mexican Brian Gutierrez in the 23rd minute. The match was also stopped for a short period for a water break, before play resumed with Mexico leading by an unanswered goal.
Over time, Mexico maintained a relative advantage in possession of 55% compared to 45% for South Africa. Jesus Gallardo almost created a dangerous opportunity in the 35th minute, but goalkeeper Williams intervened at the right time. South Africa responded with an attempt through Lyle Foster in the 38th minute, but his header went past the right post.
In the 42nd minute, the right post deprived the Mexican team of the second goal, after Quiñones shot a curling ball from inside the penalty area. Before the end of the first half, South Africa had a dangerous opportunity through Mbekize Mbokazi, but the Mexican goalkeeper blocked his shot, ending the first half with Mexico leading 1-0.
In the second half, Mexico continued its pressure, and Quinones shot a powerful ball in the 48th minute toward the center of the goal, but it did not surprise goalkeeper Williams. One minute later, South Africa’s task became more difficult after Smiso Sithole was sent off in the 49th minute, and his country completed the match with ten players.
In the 52nd minute, Mexico received a free kick from the edge of the penalty area, executed by Raul Jimenez, but he shot it directly into the defensive wall. Then Aubrey Modiba tried to threaten Mexico’s goal in the 55th minute with a long shot towards the center of the goal, but goalkeeper Raul Rangel blocked it well.
After an hour of play, the advantage seemed clear to the Mexican team, which searched for the second goal to settle the match, while the South African team did not perform at the required level. The South African national team made a substitution in the 61st minute, with Themba Zwene replacing Jayden Adams, while the Mexico coach brought on Luis Chavez for Brian Gutierrez, and Gilberto Moura for Alvaro Fidalgo in the 66th minute.
In the 67th minute, Raul Jimenez succeeded in scoring the second goal for Mexico with a header from a very close range to the left corner, after a cross from Roberto Alvarado, giving the home team a comfortable advantage in the match.
The following minutes saw a new break to drink water, then Nkosinathi Sibesi received a yellow card in the 74th minute due to strong interference. In the 76th minute, the Mexican national team made two substitutions, with Edson Alvarez replacing Eric Lira, and Armando Gonzalez replacing Raul Jimenez. The South African national team also made two substitutions in the 77th minute, with Oswin Apolis replacing Aubrey Modiba, and Sekotori Makgoba replacing Ikram Reiners. Cesar Montes from the Mexican national team received a red card, and Themba Zwene from the South African national team received a red card for violent behavior, bringing the number of red cards shown in the opening match to 3.
With this victory, the Mexican national team began its campaign in the 2026 World Cup in a strong way, in a match that carried special importance for it, after playing its eighth opening match in the World Cup, and continued its good record in the historic Azteca Stadium, where it was undefeated in seven World Cup matches held there.
