World Cup live blog: FULL-TIME: Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in opening game
Football
By
Robert Abong'o
| Jun 11, 2026
FULL- TIME: Mexico win the first game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil.
90+ 2 - RED CARD MEXICO!
90'- 7 minutes of added time
84'- RED CARD South Africa! - Themba Zwane flings his arms frustratedly at Mexico Alvarado, footage reviwed by VAR, on-pitch referee sent to review, and sends the midfielder off.
77' - Substitutions: Players subbed off coming off the pitch quickly due to new FIFA time-wasting rules. Jimenez is taken off as he leaves the field.
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75'- Substitution South Africa. Oswin Appollis comes in for Aubrey Modiba
67' - GOAL MEXICO! Raúl Giménez scores!
63 - Bafana are asking for a penalty after a player goes down softly in the box; nothing given.
55'- Substitution - Lyle Foster taken off, replaced by Talent Mbatha. Bafana Bafana struggling even more to create anything, giving the ball away cheaply, piling pressure on themselves as Mexico keep geeting more set-pieces in their half.
50' - RED CARD! Sphephelo Sithole sent for an early shower after a desperate last-man foul on Gutierez! Sent off for the denial of a goal scoring opportunity!
46' - Second half underway!
HALF-TIME
45'- 4 additional minutes!
41 -SAVE! Mexico suddenly burst into life; Williams denies Raul Jimenez again after Bafana defenders get caught ball-watching with a cross from the left. Quinones almost gets a second after hitting a low shot only for it to come off the post!
35'- Tempo of the game has dropped, as Bafana win more second balls in midfield.
32' - SAVE! Williams gets down to make another save from Mexico's Gallardo, who teamed off the wing to get a low shot off.
26' - Play resumes, and the co-hosts look increasingly dangerous.
25'- Hydration break!
23’ - Mexico look dangerous every time they push forward in the early stages of this match. Alvarado sends a threatening delivery into the penalty area, but a SA defender is positioned well to intercept.
20’ - At the other end, Rangel misjudges a long ball and is left far from his line, yet South Africa are unable to test him with a shot on target.
15’ - South Africa struggling to lay a glove on Mexico here, as the match becomes more cagey, more fouls.
9’ - GOAL MEXICO! Julián Quiñones scores after high pressure from Mexico and a defensive error from Bafana Bafana.
5’ – Chance! Raúl Jiménez almost scores - The Wolves striker almost gives the co-hosts the lead after getting at the end of a cross, only to be denied by a strong low save from Bafana’s Ronwen Williams
1’ – Kick-off at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City!
Opening Ceremony:
Celebrities and artists Shakira, Burna Boy, Tyla, J Balvin, among others, perform during the opening ceremony of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group A match between Mexico and South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.