Mexico outclass South Africa in World Cup opener at Estadio Azteca

Mexico outclass South Africa in World Cup opener at Estadio Azteca After several weeks of off-field controversies, from visa denials to unconvincing press conferences, the 2026 World Cup kicked off on Thursday with a convincing win for co-hosts Mexico over South Africa. France would not enter the World Cup stage for another few days, having only touched down in Boston the previous day. Les Bleus would have until Monday to gear up for their opener against Senegal, with their first training session in the United States due to take place shortly after the match at the Azteca ended. Didier Deschamps’ men had oly touched down in Boston the previous day, having played their final warm-up friendly against Northern Ireland in Lille on Monday. In Mexico City, the build-up to the World Cup’s curtain-raiser had been shrouded in popular discontent, with transport workers protesting and a teachers’ strike also taking place, among other moments of tension in the preceding days. The mood aroud the stadium on matchday, though, was mostly festive as 80,000 Mexico fans formed a wave of green that streamed into the hallowed ground. Over two hours to go until kick-off, the Azteca was full to the brim ahead of its third World Cup. Thursday’s opener did have a few links, albeit tenuous, to French football. Former Ajaccio icon Guillermo Ochoa was on the bench for his record-equalling sixth edition, while the pre-match flag parade was opened by tournament ambassador Salma Hayek, whose husband François Pinault owns Stade Rennais.  Mexico dominated early on, putting the South Africa defence under siege It was Julián Quiñones who opened the scoring ten minutes in, making the most of a cheap giveaway by Yaya Sithole before slotting a shot through Ronwen Williams’ legs. The mid-half cooling break, as many will have predicted, took some of the momentum out of the match. The hosts soon re-established their dominance, however. The South Africa team, in large part made up of players from African champions Mamelodi Sundowns, had evidently opted to afford  La Tri enough respect to let them take charge of the game. A flurry of chances fell to Javier Aguirre’s men in the closing stages, with Williams managing to keep out a cross for Raúl Jiménez which nearly crept into the bottom corner. Seconds later, Quiñones hit the bar with a close-range slotted effort which left Williams beaten. The match went from bad to worse for Sithole. The midfielder was again at fault as he was shown a straight red card for a pull on Gutiérrez, who was sent through on goal. Nothing would come of the ensuing Mexican free-kick on the edge of the box. Raúl Jiménez would double the lead midway through the first half, heading in from close range after a well-placed cross by Roberto Alvarado. The Wolves striker, arguably the face of the Mexico team, had finally opened his World Cup account after thirteen years with the national team. The Bafana Bafana scarcely looked like mounting a comeback, and were dealt a further blow when Themba Zwane also saw red in the closing stages for elbowing Alvarado. Rather than plodding to its logical conclusion, the match continued to be played at high-intensity in the closing stages. The sending-offs continued, as the hosts’ captain and centre-half César Montes was also given his marching orders for bringing down Mudau, who had him beaten for pace. In any case, it was an ideal start for the hosts, who are now essentially guaranteed a spot in the knockout stages. The action involving the Ligue 1 representatives will come later in the day, with Lyon forward Pavel Šulc notably in the Czech Republic squad to face South Korea in Guadalajara. GFFN |  Raphaël Jucobin – reporting from the Estadio Azteca, Mexico City