Mexico 2 - 0 South Africa

Goals: Julián Quiñones (9'), Raúl Jiménez (67')

South Africa's return to the FIFA World Cup after a 16-year absence began with a challenging outing as they fell 2-0 to tournament co-hosts Mexico in the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at a packed Estadio Azteca on Thursday.

Back on football's biggest stage for the first time since 2010, Hugo Broos' side showed moments of resilience but were ultimately undone by costly errors and a difficult second half that saw them finish the match with nine men.

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The hosts made a bright start in front of their passionate supporters and took the lead after nine minutes through Julián Quiñones. South Africa's attempt to play out from the back went wrong when Sphephelo Sithole lost possession under pressure, allowing the Mexican forward to seize the opportunity and slot the ball beyond Ronwen Williams.

Bafana Bafana gradually settled into the contest and enjoyed improved spells of possession as the first half progressed. However, they struggled to create clear-cut opportunities against a disciplined Mexican defence and went into the interval trailing by a single goal.

South Africa's task became significantly more difficult just four minutes into the second half when Sithole was shown a straight red card for bringing down Brian Gutiérrez as the Mexican attacker raced through on goal.

The evening became even more frustrating for South Africa when substitute Themba Zwane was sent off following a VAR review in the closing stages, leaving Bafana Bafana with nine players for the remainder of the match.

While the result leaves South Africa with work to do in Group A, there were periods during the contest that suggested Broos' side can still be competitive in the matches ahead.

South Africa's next match will be on Thursday against Czechia at 16h00 GMT.