Mexico 2-0 South Africa: J. Quinones opens the scoring, Raúl Jiménez adds one after halftime

In the first round of the 2026 World Cup group stage, Mexico won 2-0 at home against South Africa. J. Quinones put Mexico ahead in the 9th minute with a goal assisted by E. Lira, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead. South Africa’s Teboho Mokoena was booked in the 17th minute, while Mexico’s Brian Gutiérrez received a yellow card in the 23rd minute, and Mexico went into halftime leading 1-0.

After the break, South Africa’s Siphephelo Sithole was shown a red card in the 49th minute. In the 67th minute, Raúl Jiménez scored from R. Alvarado’s assist to extend Mexico’s lead to 2-0. Nkosinathi Sibisi was booked in the 74th minute.

The match still featured more dismissals late on. In the 82nd minute, South Africa had a VAR-related card upgrade incident, and Themba Zwane was then shown a red card in the 84th minute. In stoppage time at 90+2, Mexico’s César Montes was also sent off. The final score finished Mexico 2-0 South Africa.

In the match statistics, Mexico had 61% possession to South Africa’s 39%. Expected goals were 1.46 to 0.07, shots were 16 to 3, shots on target were 4 to 2, pass completion was 90% to 81%, corners were 3 to 1, offsides were 1 to 1, saves were 2 to 2, and fouls were 12 to 11.

Looking ahead to the next round, Mexico will host Korea in Group Stage 2 on 2026-06-19. Mexico currently sit first in Group A with 3 points, a goal difference of +2, and a record of 1 win, 0 draws, 0 losses, which is inside the official Round of 32 qualification zone. South Africa will travel to face Czechia in Group Stage 2 on 2026-06-18. South Africa are currently fourth in Group A with 0 points, a goal difference of -2, and a record of 0 wins, 0 draws, 1 loss.