Mexico v South Africa

A truly remarkable opening game at the 2026 World Cup comes to an end as 10-man Mexico beat nine-man South Africa 2-0! The co-hosts were quick out of the blocks, with Jimenez seeing an early shot saved before Quinones slotted in the opener after nine minutes, profiting from a Sithole mistake. The winger then struck the post before the break, but the second half really saw the game come to life. A Williams error almost let Gutierrez in 35 seconds after the restart, and Sithole was sent off just three minutes later, bringing down Gutierrez on the edge of the box as the last man. Jimenez then scored his first World Cup goal in the 67th minute, nodding in Alvarado's cross from close range. South Africa tried to threaten an unlikely comeback, but in doing so, received their second straight red, with Zwane deemed to have slapped Alvarado in the face while trying to shrug him off with six minutes of the 90 remaining. But the drama wasn't over, as Montes was given his marching orders in the second minute of stoppage time for denying Madau a goalscoring opportunity. Mexico earned the first win of the tournament, going top of Group A ahead of South Korea's match against Czechia, which takes place in Guadalajara in a matter of hours. The co-hosts were deserving winners, though, racking up 1.41 xG to South Africa's 0.07, and have given themselves a brilliant platform to build on. They face South Korea next, with Czechia the next opponents for South Africa. That's all for today, thanks for joining us!

FULL-TIME: MEXICO 2-0 SOUTH AFRICA.

Surprisingly, this is not the first World Cup game to see three straight reds shown. The last time it happened, South Africa were also involved, when they played Denmark in 1998 – Bafana Bafana had one to the Danes' two on that occasion.

It's a waste of a free-kick, really, as South Africa take it short instead of whipping a cross into the box. Mudau takes a heavy touch, and it's an easy one for Mexico to get clear.

90'+2'

Red Card

MEXICO ARE DOWN TO 10! We've had three red cards in the 2026 World Cup opener! South Africa broke in numbers and had four players on three as Mudau raced towards the box. Montes gets across and clips him just outside the box, and the referee is quick to go to his pocket to get another red card out for denying a goalscoring opportunity!

We're into seven added minutes at the end of the game, and when Alvarado can't find any space down the right, Mexico switch it out to the opposite flank. Vega gets caught in possession cutting inside, and that's another chance wasted.