Mexico edged past South Africa 2-0 in the opening fixture of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The win felt like a sweet revenge, for which Mexico had been waiting for 16 years. But the bigger story is Mexico’s wait for 96 years to win an opening fixture at the world’s biggest football tournament.
Mexico has played in the opening fixture of the FIFA World Cup a record eight times, starting with 1930.In 2010, when South Africa became the first African nation to host the FIFA World Cup, nobody thought they would go on to score a banger on Day 1 and hold Mexico for a 1-1 draw. The Mexicans, however, were denied a flying start and also could not break their jinx of a winless Day 1. It was probably their best chance, but Siphiwe Tshabalala’s stunning strike from the edge of the box to the top-right corner broke several hearts.
Commentator Peter Drury perfectly captured that moment. “Goal for all of Africa!” he had said. That match remains in the hearts of most of the football fans. Now, after 16 years, the clock came to a full circle on Friday. And, this time, Mexico wanted to end their winless Day 1 run and finally had the chance to ‘settle the score’ at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico in front of 80,824 fans. The win, however, wasn’t smooth for Mexico. They failed to capitalise on a shaky South African side that seemed to have completely lost the plot after 15 minutes of kick-off. It was nothing like the 2010’s South Africa—fast, lethal and accurate. The stadium’s roar made them feel helpless and pushed them to lose confidence.“Listen to that deafening roar cascading down the stands! The Azteca isn’t just a stadium tonight—it is an absolute concrete pressure cooker. South Africa’s players look completely gripped by stage fright,” the commentator had said. Mexico dominated possession and found an early breakthrough through Julián Quiñones, whose low-powered drive slipped through the South African goalkeeper’s legs. The goal put off the pressure inside a packed Azteca.The second goal, scored by Raúl Jiménez after a well-timed run into the box and a sublime header, appeared to put the contest beyond South Africa’s reach. The match, however, will be remembered for the referee and the chaos that followed.
