Mexico’s Julian Quinones unleashed a spectacular strike and Raul Jimenez scored a header as the co-hosts beat 9-man South Africa 2-0 in their World Cup Group A opener, at the Estadio Azteca Stadium in a match where three players were sent off.
It was a day of firsts for the World Cup, as the first 48-team edition, and the first to be held in three countries, got underway in the first stadium to host three World Cup openers.
After a defensive error by South Africa’s Sphephelo Sithole, Mexico opened the scoring. Sithole was robbed on the edge of his own box by Erik Lira, and he quickly fed Julian Quinones who danced inside before drilling a low finish beneath Williams.
South Africa were clinging on for dear life as the first half came to a close and the second began in a similar vein.
Brian Gutierrez drew the first red card when his marauding run towards the box was stopped in its tracks by Sithole, whose clumsy tackle from behind earned him his marching orders to complete a miserable afternoon’s work for the midfielder.
The crowd had begun to get a little restless at Mexico’s failure to turn their numerical advantage into another goal but that frustration was shortly relieved when Jimenez bagged his first World Cup goal, with a powerful downward header past Williams from a cross by Roberto Alvarado.
The game’s finale was dominated by the dismissals with Themba Zwane sent off after a VAR check for a supposed arm to the face, while Cesar Montes was sent off for Mexico for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
The ill-tempered encounter spoiled an otherwise party atmosphere, yet the home crowd got to celebrate an opening victory that will set them up nicely to make it out of a group that also includes South Korea and the Czech Republic.
