Coupe du monde 2026 : le Mexique s’impose face à l’Afrique du Sud au terme d’un match très heurté
Mexico made a perfect start to "their" World Cup campaign by defeating South Africa 2-0 on Thursday at the Azteca Stadium. It was an intense and hard-fought match, marked by three red cards and a clear dominance from the Mexicans.
The 23rd edition of the World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, is underway. The opening match of the tournament between Mexico and South Africa was played in the legendary Azteca Stadium. The match went in favor of the Mexicans, who won 2-0.
In a packed stadium, with the fans entirely behind them, Mexico quickly took the lead. Julian Quiñones capitalized on a risky clearance by Ronwen Williams and a turnover by Sphephelo Sithole to open the scoring with a powerful shot (9th minute).
Dominant but sometimes clumsy in the final third, the Mexicans missed several opportunities to extend their lead, notably thwarted by South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who made two fine saves. Just seconds before halftime, Quiñones came close to doubling the advantage, but his left-footed shot crashed against the right post (44th minute).
Upon returning from the locker room, the South Africans began the second half as they had started the first, making numerous errors, particularly in their clearances. To make matters worse, Bafana Bafana were reduced to ten men after Sphephelo Sithole was sent off (49th minute).
With a numerical advantage, Mexico took control of the ball. In the 67th minute, Raul Jiménez, perfectly set up by a cross from Alvarado, scored the second goal with a superb header.
Trailing 2-0, South Africa were then reduced to nine men after Themba Zwane was sent off (83rd minute) for a dangerous challenge on a Mexican player. In stoppage time, Mexico also finished the match with ten men after César Montes received a red card (90+2).
Despite this expulsion, the Mexicans perfectly managed their advantage to win 2-0. Co-host of the 2026 World Cup, Mexico thus begins its tournament with a convincing victory at the end of a particularly hard-fought match, marked by three expulsions.
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