As opening games go, Mexico’s 2-0 win over South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in the 2026 World Cup was one of the more memorable and historic.
It was mainly memorable due to the red cards for South Africa’s Yaya Sithole and Themba Zwane, and Mexico’s Cesar Montes.
Mexico prevailed courtesy of goals from forwards Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez in the end. However, long before veteran forward Jimenez headed home their second goal in the 67th minute, El Tri should have had the game wrapped up.
The result meant that Mexico won the opening game at a World Cup for the first time in 11 attempts.
What is the historical significance of the game?
The game was not just any World Cup opener. It saw several records broken. The Azteca became the first stadium to ever host three World Cups, having also hosted games in the 1970 and 1986 editions of the competition.
The records just kept coming, as it became the first World Cup opener ever to see three players shown red cards.
Elsewhere, the game saw the first-ever repeat of an opening fixture, as the pair had met in the 2010 World Cup opener, when South Africa were hosts.
Meanwhile, highly rated Club Tijuana youngster Gilberto Mora became the youngest El Tri player to appear at a World Cup at the age of 17 years and 240 days.
Record third time the World Cup opening game has been held at Azteca
The Estadio Azteca is one of the most iconic stadiums in world football. Its capacity of 87,523 is the highest in Latin America.
The 2026 World Cup opening game will certainly be remembered for a long time to come, even if it is for the wrong reasons.
The first World Cup opening game ever held at the Azteca was rather less memorable, as it ended in a goalless draw between the host nation and the Soviet Union in 1970.
It certainly didn’t bring the same level of drama as its 2026 counterpart. However, the game saw the introduction of yellow cards to the World Cup for the first time.
The 1986 World Cup opener was the only game out of the three played at the Azteca that didn’t involve Mexico. Instead, as tradition dictated, reigning champions Italy kicked off their title defence with a 1-1 draw against Bulgaria.
It wasn’t quite as dramatic as the latest opener, but it did contain a dramatic 85th-minute equaliser from Bulgaria, which saw the outsiders hold the champions to a 1-1 draw.