Mexico and South Korea Open Their World Cup Campaigns with Victories

Mexico, one of the three host nations of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, began their tournament campaign with a comfortable 2-0 victory over South Africa at the historic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City in front of approximately 80,000 spectators, as part of Group A action.

The hosts imposed themselves from the outset and opened the scoring early through the in-form Julián Quiñones in the ninth minute after capitalizing on a costly defensive error. Veteran striker Raúl Jiménez then added a second goal in the second half to secure Mexico’s first three points of the tournament.

The match featured three red cards, with South Africa reduced by the dismissals of Sfivelo Sithole and substitute Themba Zwane, while Mexican defender César Montes was also sent off in stoppage time.

Mexico started the game with clear attacking intent, and Raúl Jiménez nearly opened the scoring in the fifth minute, only to be denied by an excellent save from South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.

The breakthrough did not take long to arrive, however. Quiñones seized on a mistake from defender Sithole, raced through on goal and calmly slotted the ball between the goalkeeper’s legs to score the first goal of the 2026 World Cup in the ninth minute.

Quiñones’ impressive display was a continuation of his outstanding season with Saudi club Al Qadsiah, where he finished as the Saudi Pro League’s top scorer with 33 goals, ahead of high-profile names such as Ivan Toney and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Mexican winger squandered two further opportunities before half-time, including an effort that struck the post. South Africa improved slightly towards the end of the first half and almost equalized when Mbekezeli Mbokazi tested goalkeeper Raúl Rangel with a dangerous effort.

The visitors suffered a major setback shortly after the restart when Sithole brought down Brian Gutiérrez as he raced clear on goal, earning a straight red card in the 49th minute.

Mexico took full advantage of their numerical superiority and doubled their lead in the 67th minute when Jiménez scored his first-ever FIFA World Cup goal with a close-range header.

South Africa’s problems worsened when substitute Themba Zwane was sent off in the 84th minute following a challenge on Roberto Alvarado, leaving his team with only nine men. Deep into stoppage time, Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio showed a third red card, dismissing Mexico defender Montes.

South Korea Defeat Czechia

In the second match of the group, Hwang In-beom inspired South Korea to a valuable 2-1 victory over Czechia at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara.

After dominating possession in the first half without finding a breakthrough, South Korea fell behind in the 59th minute when Ladislav Krejčí headed home from a long throw-in to give Czechia the lead.

The Korean response was swift. Hwang In-beom levelled the score in the 67th minute after cleverly evading both the goalkeeper and a defender before calmly finishing into the net.

South Korea head coach then introduced striker Oh Hyeon-gyu in place of captain Son Heung-min in the 69th minute, and the substitute made an immediate impact by scoring the winning goal in the 80th minute from an assist provided by Hwang himself.

Tomáš Souček thought he had equalized for Czechia late on, but his goal was ruled out for offside. South Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu then made two crucial saves in the closing stages to preserve his side’s lead.

The victory leaves South Korea level on three points with Mexico, although the hosts remain top of Group A on goal difference.