Mexico won the opening match of the 2026 World Cup 2-0 against South Africa, and for once the hosts started a tournament in front. But the headline at the Estadio Azteca was not the football. It was the cards. Three players were sent off, the most in any World Cup opening match, beating the two Cameroon collected in 1990.
Julián Quiñones settled the nerves early, finishing in the 9th minute to give Mexico a lead they never looked like surrendering. South Africa held on at 1-0 until the break, but the game unravelled in the second half. Raúl Jiménez doubled the lead on 67 minutes, and by then the contest had already turned ugly.
A record-breaking dismissal count
Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio was the busiest man in the stadium. South Africa’s Yaya Sithole went first on 49 minutes, reducing his side to ten. Themba Zwane followed on 73, shown a red after Sampaio consulted the pitchside VAR monitor. With the match long gone, Mexico’s César Montes was dismissed in stoppage time on 90+2, completing a remarkable hat-trick of sendings-off. More red cards than goals tells you most of the story.
There was history in the result too. This was Mexico’s first-ever win in a World Cup opening match, having previously lost five and drawn two. The venue added its own milestone: the Estadio Azteca became the first stadium to host matches at three different World Cups, in 1970, 1986 and now 2026. An attendance of 80,824 packed in to see it.
What it means for Group A
Mexico sit top of Group A on three points, the perfect launchpad for a host nation under pressure to progress. South Africa, bottom on zero, leave with nothing and a selection headache. Two suspensions to manage from a single match is the kind of discipline problem no side wants this early, and Bafana Bafana will need a sharp response to keep their campaign alive.
You can follow every result as it lands on our live World Cup 2026 standings, and find our full coverage at the World Cup 2026 hub. On the early evidence, Group A looks wide open, and South Africa’s remaining fixtures suddenly carry far more weight than they did at kick-off.