Mexico rout South Africa 2-0 in World Cup opener

Co-host Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0 in the opening match of the 2026 North America World Cup on Friday.

Ranked 14th in the world by FIFA, Mexico cruised past 60th-ranked South Africa at Mexico City Stadium with Julian Quiñones breaking the deadlock and Raul Jiménez adding a second to seal a comfortable Group A victory.

The tournament — the first World Cup in history co-hosted by three nations (the United States, Canada and Mexico) and the first to feature an expanded field of 48 teams — kicked off with Friday's match, launching a 104-game schedule that runs through July 20.

Mexico and South Africa are both Group A rivals of South Korea. South Korea face Mexico on June 19 and South Africa on June 25 in their second and third group-stage matches respectively, making Friday's opener a closely watched contest for the Korean side.

Before a sellout crowd of 80,824 at Mexico City Stadium, Mexico took the lead in the ninth minute when Quiñones fired in the opening goal. Originally a Colombia under-20 international, Quiñones was naturalized as a Mexican citizen in 2023 and went on to win the top-scorer title in Saudi Arabia's league with Al-Qadsiah during the 2025-2026 season.

South Africa's situation worsened early in the second half when midfielder Sphelele Sithole was shown a red card just four minutes after the restart for a foul on Gutierrez near the penalty arc as the Mexican attempted to drive into the penalty area.

Mexico extended their lead in the 67th minute when Jiménez found the net to send the home fans into a frenzy. The goal was his 46th in international play, drawing him level with retired forward Jared Borgetti — who played from 1997 to 2008 — for second place on Mexico's all-time scoring list.

South Africa's night unraveled further when substitute midfielder Themba Zwane was sent off in the 84th minute for a reckless foul on Alvarado, catching him in the face.

Mexico also paid a price: central defender Cesar Montes was dismissed in stoppage time for fouling South Africa's Kuliso Mudau, ruling him out of the match against South Korea.

Mexico, who have qualified for nine consecutive World Cups, opened the competition with three points. South Africa — returning to the World Cup for the first time since hosting the tournament in 2010 — suffered a first defeat after failing to breach the Mexican defense.