Mexico 2-0 South Africa: Quiñones and Jiménez Launch the World Cup Amid Three Red Cards

The 2026 World Cup began the way the hosts dreamed it would. Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 at the Estadio Azteca on Thursday, with Julián Quiñones opening the scoring after just nine minutes and Raúl Jiménez doubling the lead in the 66th — a winning start in front of 80,824 supporters at the first match of the 48-team era.

Quiñones, the Colombian-born forward who finished this season as the Saudi league's top scorer, needed less than ten minutes to write himself into World Cup history with the tournament's first goal. Jiménez's second-half strike carried its own significance: it was his first goal in three World Cups and his 46th for Mexico, drawing him level with Jared Borgetti for second place on the country's all-time scoring list.

The match turned ugly as it wore on. Three red cards were shown — two to South Africa, with Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane both dismissed, and one to Mexico's César Montes in injury time. For a tournament opener, it was an unusually ill-tempered affair, though it did little to dampen the party inside a stadium making history as the first to stage matches at three different men's World Cups.

For Mexico, the result extends a remarkable run: unbeaten through eight friendlies in 2026 and now winners on opening night, with six players making their World Cup debuts. El Tri have still never lost a World Cup match at the Azteca.

South Africa, back at the tournament for the first time since hosting in 2010, must now regroup with nine and then ten men's worth of suspensions to manage. Mexico's next assignment is South Korea in Guadalajara next Thursday — a meeting of the two early Group A winners.

Sources: ESPN — Mexico 2-0 South Africa: three red cards as co-hosts win World Cup opener · PBS News — Mexico wins 2-0 over South Africa in opening match of 2026 World Cup