New Delhi: The biggest football extravaganza, FIFA World Cup 2026, has started in a very exciting manner on the soil of Mexico. In the opening match of the competition, co-host Mexico defeated South Africa 2–0 at its historic ground, Azteca Stadium, to secure all three points in the tournament. 80,824 football lovers were present in the stadium to witness this historic moment, who encouraged the home team.
Mexico took the lead in the opening minutes
From the beginning of the match, the Mexican team was successful in putting continuous pressure on South Africa. In exactly the 9th minute of the match, Julian Quinones, the top scorer of the current season of the Saudi League, scored a brilliant field goal to give Mexico an early 1-0 lead. This match was very special for Quinones, a 29-year-old forward of Colombian origin, because he was among the six players who were making their World Cup debut for Mexico through this match.
Jimenez’s historic header
After taking a one-goal lead in the first half, Mexico continued its attack in the second half as well. In the 66th minute of the match, experienced striker Raul Jimenez made the score 2-0 by entangling the ball in the net through an excellent header. This goal was the 46th goal of Jimenez’s international career. With this achievement, he has equaled the record of Mexico’s great football player Jared Borgetti and has jointly become the country’s second most successful scorer.
Three players got red cards
In this match, tremendous aggression and indiscipline was also seen between the players of both the teams. The referee showed a total of three red cards during the match. South Africa’s Spphelo Sithole (49th minute) and Themba Zwane (83rd minute) had to leave the field due to serious fouls, due to which the South African team had to end the match with 9 players. Mexico’s defender Cesar Montes also had to face a red card in the last moments of the game.
Will be looking for the first win
This home win has brought a big relief for the Mexico team, which was eliminated in the first round of the Qatar World Cup 2022. While Mexico are now in a strong position in Group A, South Africa will be looking for their first win against the Czech Republic in Atlanta next Thursday. It is noteworthy that this time it is the biggest tournament in FIFA history with the participation of 48 teams, which is being jointly organized by Mexico, Canada and America.
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