SPORTSWORLD.AM
In the opening match of the 2026 World Cup, the Mexican national team, as the nominal home team, faced off against the South African team.
Mexico is hosting the world's biggest tournament for the third time, having hosted two of them alone and the 2026 World Cup jointly with the United States of America (USA) and Canada.
Ahead of this tournament, FIFA has made changes to the number of participating teams, according to which 48 national teams will participate in the 2026 World Cup. The two teams are included in Group A, where their opponents are South Korea and the Czech Republic.
At the start of the match, the Mexicans were saved after a shot by 35-year-old Raul Jimenez. The Africans relied on defensive football in this match and Hooligan Kuenes scored with such football (1:0), opening the score of the match and scoring the first goal of the tournament. He has scored four goals in the World Cup. The Mexican national team felt like real masters of the field because they play in their own country with the support of their own fans.
The Mexican team played active football in the opening 20 minutes, with a 54/46% possession ratio. At the end of the first half, the aggressive football stopped, as the Mexican players were playing in their own half.
In the second half, Mexican national team player, Bukies, went one-on-one with the opponent's goalkeeper Yaya Sithole to try to avoid the impending danger by going for a foul, which was deemed a last-ditch tackle by the referee and the South African player was sent off, leaving his team with ten players in the 49th minute of the match.
The home team continued to attack down the right wing in both the first and second half, and in the 67th minute of the match, Raul Jimenez doubled his team's lead (2:0).
South Africa's players were fouled twice in the same match, this time Teman Zwane was the focus of attention. The 37-year-old was also sent off, leaving the visitors with nine players. In the second minute of added time, Mexico was also left with ten players.
Thus, the Mexican national team defeated the South African team in the first match of the 2026 World Cup.