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MEXICO CITY, June 11 : Mexicans celebrated their win against South Africa on Thursday, with an 80,000-full Azteca stadium erupting in a deafening roar as Mexico won the first match of the World Cup, overcoming a curse in which the national team had failed to win on the opening day of the tournament on seven previous occasions.
Co-hosts Mexico got off to a victorious start, beating South Africa 2-0 as the largest World Cup in history kicked off Thursday at Mexico City's famed Estadio Azteca.
MEXICO CITY, June 11 : Mexico's Julian Quinones unleashed a spectacular strike and Raul Jimenez scored a header as the co-hosts beat nine-man South Africa 2-0 in their World Cup Group A opener at Estadio Azteca on Thursday, in a match where three players were sent off.
MEXICO CITY: Mexico ignited their World Cup party with a dominant 2-0 victory over nine-man South Africa on Thursday as the biggest ever edition of the global footballing showpiece kicked off at the iconic Estadio Azteca. Julian Quinones scored the opening goal of the tournament and veteran striker Raul Jimenez added a second as the co-hosts’ bid for qualification from Group A got off to smooth start. South Africa meanwhile never looked like spoiling the opening day fiesta, and finished with only nine men after Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were sent off. The Mexican-colored red, green and white smoke from pre-game fireworks had barely dissipated before Quinones fired the hosts into the lead on nine minutes, drilling a low shot through the legs of South Africa’s goalkeeper and captain Ronwen Williams. A deafening roar cascaded down from the stands of the Azteca, the footballing cathedral that became the only stadium to host games at three different World Cups. South Africa coach Hugo Broos had warned his players to be ready for the intimidating atmosphere created by a capacity 80,824 crowd at the imposing concrete arena. But South Africa’s players looked to have a bad case of stage fright as Mexico’s fans greeted each completed pass with a raucous chorus of “Ole!” in the opening minutes. Sithole seemed particularly affected, being caught in possession trying to play out of the back for Quinones’ opening goal. Sithole’s miserable afternoon ended with a 49th minute dismissal after bundling over Mexico’s Brian Gutierrez when clean through on goal. Mexico rammed home their advantage in the 67th minute, with a fine counter attack culminating in Roberto Alvarado crossing for Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Jimenez to nod
Julián Quinones and Raul Jimeñez helped Mexico make an exuberant start to the World Cup on Thursday, scoring a goal each in a 2-0 win over South Africa in the opening match of the tournament in Mexico City.
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Talksport presenter Simon Jordan discusses the 2026 FIFA World Cup kickoff in Mexico, highlighting its immense global and growing U.S. influence. Jordan notes soccer's rise to the third most popular sport in America, surpassing baseball and hockey. He is optimistic about the record-breaking tournament, expected to sell 6.5 million tickets, despite past World Cup challenges.