5 min readMexico CityJun 12, 2026 08:23 AM IST
First published on: Jun 12, 2026 at 08:03 AM IST
Sometime past noon in the bowels of Azteca, football took over the tournament, liberating the World Cup from the cynicism, disillusionment and anger that had stormed it in the build-up. By the time the game ended, Mexico shredding a tepid South Africa, the tiers dripping in sweat, tears of joy and beer, the sport had salvaged its centrality.
The quality of the game was marginally modest, three red cards were brandished, a slew of fouls and discordant passes jarred, the game stuttering and stopping like a singer whose voice kept giving out, defences of both sides dotted with gaping cracks. But it would be remembered as a spectacle for the sheer atmosphere that Azteca whipped — an afternoon born just to enjoy, to take home as a lifetime’s memory, and not one to be preserved for its football.
The hosts dominating the game from the first touch lent a raw, wild energy to proceedings. It took only five minutes for Raul Jimenez to register his country’s first shot on goal. It took simply four more minutes for Julian Quinones to ignite boundless delirium in the stands. It was that easy against a side petrified by the ambience.
AS IT HAPPENED | Mexico vs South Africa, FIFA World Cup 2026 opening match
The goal was an inevitability after South Africa’s error-strewn start. Ponderous passing was the likeliest culprit and so it unfolded. Perhaps the confusion’s origin was the five men at the back, an unusual formation for the visitors and one that takes getting used to, irrespective of hours in training. The idea perhaps was to match Mexico’s three forwards and the searing full backs when attacking. But it only bred disharmony, men caught in a friction of function. Mexico had vast expanses to rove in the midfield, enough to organise an impromptu mariachi concerto like those that played out outside the stadium in the morning.
The opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup would be remembered as a spectacle for the sheer atmosphere that Azteca whipped — an afternoon born just to enjoy, to take home as a lifetime’s memory, and not one to be preserved for its football. (AP Photo)
Mexico’s green wave buzzed and South Africa’s pack of yellow wilted. Mistakes lurked. Goalkeeper Ronwen Williams and Sphephelo Sithole’s thoughts were in as different postcodes as Cape Town and Mexico City. Williams’s pass stunned Sithole — not the last time that it would — which manifested in a clumsy first touch. Erik Lira sprung on with an enthusiastic, if risky tackle, and broke into teammate Julian Quinones’s path. He rifled a shot through the goalkeeper’s legs and the cavernous stadium roared like an ocean. A capello unfurled; the crowd flung the cardboard sombreros as far as they could. Some swirled and nestled in the nets behind Mexico’s goalpost. Plastic cups of beer were hurled from up the tiers.
Quinones sank on his knees and prayed. Of Colombian descent, he switched nationality a few years ago and has been on fire this season — 33 goals for Al-Qadsiah in the Saudi League, finishing ahead of both Ivan Toney and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Golden Boot race. He has a dancer’s feet and sniper’s eyes, and could have at least doubled his tally. He designed a gorgeous pass, his back to the goal and holding the defender off with his body, to Erik Gutierrez. He side-footed the ball to the bottom of the near post.
The half-time whistle wouldn’t have come faster for South Africa. But five minutes upon resumption, they went a man down — the most usual suspect Sithole, whose heel caught the shin of Gutierrez just outside the box. South Africa’s comeback hopes lay in tatters, like the drone of their vuvuzelas submerged in the screech of a lakh vocal chords. Shortly, they shipped in a second goal from the head of Raul Jimenez. He has been to places that make scoring at a home World Cup mean something different. Jimenez cried.
Worse, they lost a second man — Themba Zwane for violent conduct, a perceived slap on Roberto Alvarado’s face, or was it accidental? Whatever it was, South Africa just wanted the game to end.
Perhaps the Azteca devoured them — it was so raucous that Mexico’s manager Javier Aguirre admitted that his own players felt “a bit of stage fright.” South Africans might have read and heard about the Azteca and its blistering antagonism. No matter how prepared they had come, they withered aimlessly under the midday sun. Passes went askance; tackles went haywire. They had no time to breathe or soak the game. The heat and altitude are oppressive but it’s the fans that make the arena truly hostile. The cheering is relentless, the barracking ruthless. The South Africans might not understand a single word of Spanish — but not the screaming resentment. The citadel swayed as though it were alive.
But for César Montes’s sending off in the dying minutes, Mexico enjoyed a near-perfect day. Aguirre would say: “Things got a little complicated but we relaxed and we did start with a win. Can we make it better? Of course.” The day was long enough for the Mexicans; the night of celebration longer. But as significantly, it was an afternoon football took over the tournament. And it owes a debt to the wondrous Azteca crowd.
Mexico's Julian Quinones runs to his teammates after scoring the first goal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (AP Photo) 
The opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup would be remembered as a spectacle for the sheer atmosphere that Azteca whipped — an afternoon born just to enjoy, to take home as a lifetime’s memory, and not one to be preserved for its football. (AP Photo)
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