Mexico got the win, but the red cards almost stole the opener
Mexico 2-0 South Africa is probably the clean result the hosts wanted, but this match was way messier than the score looks.
Julián Quiñones scored after nine minutes, the Azteca exploded, and for a while it felt like Mexico were going to make opening day look easy.
South Africa never really settled. Mexico controlled most of the game, created the better chances, and Raúl Jiménez getting the second goal felt like the moment everyone could finally relax.
Then the match just turned into card chaos. South Africa finished with nine men, Mexico still managed to get one of their own sent off in stoppage time, and somehow the opening game ended with more red cards than goals.
Good start for Mexico, rough night for South Africa, and maybe an early warning for every team in this tournament: the refs are not here to play around.
Posted Jun 11, 2026, 9:27 PM UTC