Mexico notched three points in the World Cup opener as they hosted South Africa at a packed Estadio Azteca. The game wasn't as straightforward as that sounds, though, as it included three red cards, divvied out to Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane of South Africa, and César Montes of Mexico. All three athletes will miss the second match for their teams.

Neither team seemed sure-footed until Julián Quiñones put the ball in the back of the net in the 9th minute. Still, Mexico continued to play on the back foot, and only when they had a man advantage did they score a second goal in the 67th minute, courtesy of Raúl Jiménez.

Recap the full game below and read match takeaways.

Mexico vs South Africa Takeaways

  • The red cards. First and foremost, let's talk about the big red elephant in the room. Three red cards were unexpected. According to Will Jeanes, there were more red cards in this opening match than through 57 matches at the 2022 World Cup. I'm not sure if this is FIFA setting a precedent, or if it was a perfect storm, but you could argue the last two cards were unnecessary.
  • Missing Montes. The late red card, which came in stoppage time, will see César Montes, arguably Mexico's best defender, out for the match against South Korea.
  • Slow start. The game seemed like too big of a moment for both teams at first, as they tried to find their footing. Mexico found a way out of it, but South Africa did not. Bafana Bafana looked outmatched and continuously played the ball slowly out of the backfield.
  • Find the groove. El Tri ended up with the two goals from Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez, but they were far from perfect. South Korea and especially Czechia will be much more formidable opponents, and Mexico will need to find their footing earlier in those matches. It seems we can probably expect the Gilberto Mora ace up Aguirre's sleeve to be pulled sooner rather than later, and he may get the start after only playing ~30 minutes in this game.

Mexico vs South Africa Recap

FT - Fulltime, Mexico 2-0 South Africa.

El Tri wins the opening match of the 2026 World Cup, but this game will likely be remembered for the three red cards.

90+2' - Mexico red card 🟥

César Montes off late. Mexico down to ten. That's the third red card of the game.

César Montes parou o contra-ataque da África do Sul e foi expulso por Wilton Pereira Sampaio

[image or embed]

— HTE Sports (@htesports.bsky.social) June 11, 2026 at 4:00 PM

90+ - Stoppage time

Added time underway.

86' - South Africa on target

Oswin Appollis forces a save from Raúl Rangel.

84' - South Africa red card 🟥

Themba Zwane sent off after VAR review. South Africa down to nine players.

79' - Mexico substitution

Alexis Vega for Julián Quiñones.

77' - South Africa substitutions

Double change. Evidence Makgopa for Iqraam Rayners. Oswin Appollis for Aubrey Modiba.

76' - Mexico substitutions

Double change. Edson Álvarez for Erik Lira. Armando González for Raúl Jiménez.

74' - South Africa yellow card 🟨

Nkosinathi Sibisi booked. Second of the half for the team.

72' - Mexico effort

Raúl Jiménez forces a save from Ronwen Williams.

67' - Mexico goal

Raúl Jiménez doubles the lead. 2-0. That's the goal Mexico has been waiting for. The crowd were not feeling it after El Tri took their foot off the gas.

RAUL JIMENEZ CABECEIA PARA AMPLIAR O PLACAR! México 2x0 África do Sul

[image or embed]

— HTE Sports (@htesports.bsky.social) June 11, 2026 at 3:35 PM

66' - Mexico substitution

Gilberto Mora for Álvaro Fidalgo. The 17-year-old phenom gets his debut for El Tri.

62' - Mexico on target

Julián Quiñones forces a save from Ronwen Williams.

62' - South Africa shot on target

Aubrey Modiba forces a save from Raúl Rangel.

61' - South Africa substitution

Themba Zwane for Jayden Adams.

60' - Mexico 1-0 South Africa

Hour mark. Mexico ahead.

56' - South Africa substitution

Thalente Mbatha for Lyle Foster.

49' - South Africa red card 🟥

Sphephelo Sithole sent off. South Africa down to ten.

Sithole derrubou Gutiérrez que ia na direção do gol Falta fora da área e cartão vermelho para o atleta sul-africano

[image or embed]

— HTE Sports (@htesports.bsky.social) June 11, 2026 at 3:18 PM

2H - Second half

Underway.

HT - Halftime

Mexico 1-0 South Africa.

45+4' - South Africa tester

Mbekezeli Mbokazi forces a save from Raúl Rangel.

45+ - Stoppage time

Added time underway.

30' - Mexico 1-0 South Africa

Half an hour gone. Mexico ahead. Two big chances for Mexico, the last one saw Quiñones hit the woodwork.

QUIÑONES NA TRAVE!!!!

[image or embed]

— HTE Sports (@htesports.bsky.social) June 11, 2026 at 2:50 PM

23' - Mexico yellow card 🟨

Brian Gutiérrez into the book.

17' - South Africa yellow card 🟨

Teboho Mokoena into the book.

17' - Mexico attempt on goal

Julián Quiñones forces a save from Ronwen Williams.

9' - Mexico goal

Julián Quiñones opens the scoring. 1-0.

ERRO NA SAÍDA DE BOLA SUL-AFRICANA E QUIÑONES ABRE O PLACAR

México 1x0 África do Sul

View on Bluesky

- HTE Sports (@htesports.bsky.social)

Kickoff

Mexico vs South Africa underway at Estadio Azteca.

How to Watch Mexico vs South Africa in the USA

Mexico vs South Africa was available in the United States on FOX / Telemundo. The match kicked off at 3:00 PM EDT on Thursday, June 11 at Estadio Azteca.

Mexico Lineup vs South Africa

  • Mexico (4-1-4-1): Raúl Rangel, Israel Reyes, César Montes, Johan Vásquez, Jesús Gallardo, Erik Lira, Roberto Alvarado, Brian Gutiérrez, Álvaro Fidalgo, Julián Quiñones, Raúl Jiménez
  • Subs: Carlos Acevedo, Guillermo Ochoa, Jorge Sánchez, Luis Romo, Mateo Chávez, Alexis Vega, César Huerta, Edson Álvarez, Gilberto Mora, Luis Chávez, Obed Vargas, Orbelín Pineda, Armando González, Guillermo Martínez, Santiago Giménez

South Africa Lineup vs Mexico

  • South Africa (5-3-2): Ronwen Williams, Khuliso Mudau, Ime Okon, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Aubrey Modiba, Teboho Mokoena, Sphephelo Sithole, Jayden Adams, Lyle Foster, Iqraam Rayners
  • Subs: Ricardo Goss, Sipho Chaine, Bradley Cross, Khulumani Ndamane, Olwethu Makhanya, Samukelo Kabini, Tholo Thabang Matuludi, Oswin Appollis, Tshepang Moremi, Relebohile Mofokeng, Kamogelo Sebelebele, Thalente Mbatha, Themba Zwane, Thapelo Maseko, Evidence Makgopa

Mexico Last 10 Matches

  • Friday, June 5 - Mexico 5, Serbia 1
  • Sunday, May 31 - Mexico 1, Australia 0
  • Saturday, May 23 - Mexico 2, Ghana 0
  • Wednesday, April 1 - Mexico 1, Belgium 1
  • Sunday, March 29 - Mexico 0, Portugal 0
  • Thursday, February 26 - Mexico 4, Iceland 0
  • Sunday, January 25 - Bolivia 0, Mexico 1
  • Friday, January 23 - Panama 0, Mexico 1
  • Wednesday, November 19 - Mexico 1, Paraguay 2
  • Sunday, November 16 - Mexico 0, Uruguay 0

South Africa Last 10 Matches

  • Saturday, June 6 - Jamaica 1, South Africa 1
  • Friday, May 29 - South Africa 0, Nicaragua 0
  • Tuesday, March 31 - South Africa 1, Panama 2
  • Friday, March 27 - South Africa 1, Panama 1
  • Sunday, January 4 - South Africa 1, Cameroon 2
  • Monday, December 29 - Zimbabwe 2, South Africa 3
  • Friday, December 26 - Egypt 1, South Africa 0
  • Monday, December 22 - South Africa 2, Angola 1
  • Tuesday, December 16 - South Africa 1, Ghana B 0
  • Saturday, November 15 - South Africa 3, Zambia 1

Mexico Squad 2026

  • 1 - J. Rangel - GK
  • 12 - C. Acevedo - GK
  • 13 - G. Ochoa - GK
  • 2 - J. Sánchez - DEF
  • 3 - C. Montes - DEF
  • 5 - J. Vásquez - DEF
  • 15 - I. Reyes - DEF
  • 20 - M. Chávez - DEF
  • 23 - J. Gallardo - DEF
  • 4 - E. Álvarez - MID
  • 6 - É. Lira - MID
  • 7 - L. Romo - MID
  • 8 - Álvaro Fidalgo - MID
  • 16 - J. Quiñones - MID
  • 17 - O. Pineda - MID
  • 18 - O. Vargas - MID
  • 19 - G. Mora - MID
  • 21 - C. Huerta - MID
  • 24 - L. Chávez - MID
  • 25 - R. Alvarado - MID
  • 26 - B. Gutiérrez - MID
  • 9 - R. Jiménez - FWD
  • 10 - A. Vega - FWD
  • 11 - S. Giménez - FWD
  • 14 - A. González - FWD
  • 22 - G. Martínez - FWD

South Africa Squad 2026

  • 1 - R. Williams - GK
  • 16 - S. Chaine - GK
  • 22 - R. Goss - GK
  • 2 - T. Matuludi - DEF
  • 3 - K. Ndamane - DEF
  • 6 - A. Modiba - DEF
  • 14 - M. Mbokazi - DEF
  • 18 - S. Kabini - DEF
  • 19 - N. Sibisi - DEF
  • 20 - K. Mudau - DEF
  • 21 - I. Okon - DEF
  • 24 - O. Makhanya - DEF
  • 26 - B. Cross - DEF
  • 4 - T. Mokoena - MID
  • 5 - T. Mbatha - MID
  • 8 - T. Moremi - MID
  • 11 - T. Zwane - MID
  • 13 - S. Sithole - MID
  • 23 - J. Adams - MID
  • 25 - K. Sebelebele - MID
  • 7 - O. Appollis - FWD
  • 9 - L. Foster - FWD
  • 10 - R. Mofokeng - FWD
  • 12 - T. Maseko - FWD
  • 15 - I. Rayners - FWD
  • 99 - E. Makgopa - FWD