Mexico
South AfricaThe match was decided early by Mexico's sharp pressing and the Azteca altitude, but it became a spectacle of red cards — three in total, including one for Mexico's César Montes — which robbed the second half of any real sporting tension while adding considerable chaos. Mexico's physical advantage at altitude was real, South Africa's sea-level lungs visibly faded, and Jiménez's header gave the hosts a cushion they never needed to defend seriously.
Mexico
Mexico were electric from the first whistle, with Julián Quiñones drilling a low shot through Ronwen Williams's legs inside nine minutes — the earliest goal to open a World Cup since Philipp Lahm in 2006. Raúl Jiménez, a 35-year-old who nearly lost his career to a serious head injury in 2020, crowned the night with a powerful header from Roberto Alvarado's cross in the 67th minute, scoring his first-ever World Cup goal on home soil, and the Azteca nearly shook itself into the ground.
South Africa
Bafana Bafana arrived with a mountain to climb — figuratively and literally — and their evening unravelled decisively when Sphephelo Sithole was sent off in the 49th minute for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity, leaving South Africa reduced to nine men after Themba Zwane received a second red. Playing at 2,250 metres against a party crowd was already a formidable ask, and their resistance once undermanned was admirable if ultimately futile.