{"id":1892,"date":"2026-06-12T06:06:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T06:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1892"},"modified":"2026-06-12T06:06:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T06:06:56","slug":"mexico-launches-its-2026-world-cup-campaign-with-a-2-0-win-over-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1892","title":{"rendered":"Mexico launches its 2026 World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>By CARLOS RODRIGUEZ<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>MEXICO CITY (AP) \u2014 Juli\u00e1n Qui\u00f1ones and Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez helped Mexico make an exuberant start to the World Cup on Thursday, scoring a goal each in a 2-0 win over South Africa in the opening match of the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1890\">Joe Pavelski talks about where things stand between him and the Maple Leafs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>With a capacity crowd of 80,824 watching at the iconic Azteca Stadium, co-host Mexico started the largest World Cup tournament in history by getting goals in each half while three red cards were shown \u2014 two for South Africa and one for Mexico.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> World Cup 2026: A guide for Bay Area soccer fans, visitors, residents and everyone else<\/p>\n<p>Qui\u00f1ones, who was the top scorer in the Saudi league this season, gave Mexico the lead in the ninth minute. Jim\u00e9nez added the second goal on a header in 66th.<\/p>\n<p>South Africa players Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were both given red cards, forcing the team to finish the match with only nine players. Mexico defender C\u00e9sar Montes was then given a red card in injury time.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1888\">Tampa Bay\u2019s Kucherov wins Hart Trophy; Sharks\u2019 Celebrini gets first-place votes<\/a><\/p>\n<p>With his 46th international goal, and his first in three World Cups, Jim\u00e9nez tied Jared Borgetti for second place for the Mexican national team. He is six goals shy of leader Javier \u201cChicharito\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez.<\/p>\n<p>Qui\u00f1ones, a 29-year-old forward who was born in Colombia, was one of six starting players who made their World Cup debut for El Tri.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Mexico, coming of a first-round exit at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, has three points in Group A and will next play South Korea next Thursday in Guadalajara.<\/p>\n<p>South Africa will play the Czech Republic on the same day in Atlanta.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s World Cup has 48 teams, the most in history. It is being held in Mexico, Canada and the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1886\">Arrest made in Berkeley Animal Shelter arson<\/a><\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>AP World Cup coverage: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/fifa-world-cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Juli\u00e1n Qui\u00f1ones and Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez helped Mexico make an exuberant start to the World Cup on Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mexico launches its 2026 World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over South Africa - 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