What so many sports fans have been waiting for is finally here: the 23rd quadrennial FIFA World Cup has officially kicked off, with a game between co-hosts Mexico and South Africa.
Mexico has already made football history by becoming the first nation to host three different World Cups. The first event held there was in 1970. Then, after the original host, Colombia, withdrew, Mexico took over the hosting duties again in 1986. Now, they are welcoming the best of the footballing world in a joint effort with co-hosts the United States and Canada.
The very same fixture, Mexico v South Africa, was the opening game for the 2010 FIFA World Cup as well. Then, the two sides finished level at 1–1.
Guillermo Ochoa is matching the two generational icons, Lionel Messi of Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, with his shared record sixth World Cup appearance as a player. However, the AEL Limassol keeper has only made the squad as a back-up this time—which is nothing to scoff at given his age of 40 years.
The biggest name to make the starting 11 for the home side was striker Raúl Jiménez from the English Premier League club Fulham. South Africa had a PL striker of their own up front, Lyle Foster of Burnley—although his season ended in relegation at the club level.
It was Jiménez who had the first chance at goal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. His half-volley from the edge of the box heading towards the bottom far side of the goal was stopped by South Africa captain Ronwen Williams in goal in the fifth minute.
Soon thereafter, in the ninth minute, Julián Quiñones of the Saudi club Al-Qadsiah FC scored the first goal of the great tournament. South Africa’s Yaya Sithole lost the ball near his own penalty box after receiving it from his keeper. Quiñones pounced on the opportunity and fired the ball into the net through Williams’ legs from around 16 yards out.
After taking the lead, Mexico decreased the intensity of their game. It was Quiñones who came close to scoring again, hitting the near post from around 14 yards out in the 42nd minute. South Africa, likely hindered by the high altitude, posed little threat in the first half, which ended 1–0 for the co-hosts.
Things went from bad to worse for Sithole at the beginning of the second half. After his mistake led to the first goal, he was sent off by Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio for fouling Gutiérrez in a clear goalscoring opportunity just outside the box.
The home crowd voiced their discontent with some jeering when their own Mexican side were passively knocking the ball around in their backline despite being one man up—it certainly was not a pretty sight, but it is still unusual for a home team to be booed while leading in a World Cup game…
The urging from the crowd worked nonetheless. Jiménez headed home Roberto Alvarado’s cross from inside the six-yard box in the 67th minute, making it 2–0.
No more goals were scored for the remainder of the game. However, two more red cards were given out, thus we saw more red cards in the opening game for the 2026 FIFA World Cup than goals—hopefully, that will not turn out to be a bad omen. After VAR review, the referee determined that South African Themba Zwane’s slight slap across Alvarado’s face during their clash merited dismissal. Mexico were also unable to finish the game with a full line-up. César Montes of Lokomotiv Moscow was given a red card for another denial of a clear opportunity call.
Co-hosts Mexico started their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with a win, which already puts them at the edge of advancing to the knockout stage in the new, expanded, 48-team World Cup.
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