Bafana Bafana’s opening match drought in World Cups continues after Mexico horror show

South Africa came into their first Fifa World Cup match in 16 years aiming to break their winless streak in opening matches at the soccer extravaganza. But they failed, going down 2-0 to Mexico at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on Thursday.

Hugo Broos’s men also ended the match with nine men after receiving two red cards. Sphephelo Sithole was the first to be handed his marching orders by Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio.

The first sending off, which came with 50 minutes played, was an exclamation mark to a horrid showing by Sithole. The midfielder was also culpable for Mexico’s opening strike (and the opening goal of the 2026 World Cup).

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.

The Mexicans opened the scoring after Julián Quiñones punished a sloppy mistake at the back by Sithole, a defensive midfielder. England-based striker Raúl Jiménez scored Mexico’s second goal in front of more than 80,000 expectant home fans.

On 84 minutes, second-half substitute Themba Zwane was also shown red for striking out at Mexico’s Roberto Alvarado. Sampaio flashed red one last time before the match ended when he sent off Mexican defender César Montes.

The result not only brought South Africans thudding back to the ground amid the excitement of their country making a comeback to the global soccer stage after almost two decades, but subjected Bafana Bafana to another opening-match disappointment: their record in World Cup opening matches is now zero wins, three draws and one loss.

The South Africans came into the match as heavy underdogs. It was always going to be an uphill battle for Bafana Bafana, and perhaps that is why coach Broos went for a conservative approach by fielding three centre-backs.

“In a group like this, it is very important to win your first game,” said Broos before the match. “If you don’t win, you are already in a difficult position.”

The South Africans will have to cast aside memories of the Azteca Stadium horror show and achieve a better result in their next match, against the Czech Republic in a week. Their hopes of reaching the knockouts for the first time depend on it.

Day of firsts

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.

It was fitting therefore that the first of a record 104 matches had Mexico clinch a first win in the tournament’s opening match after seven previous failures and of course, it was the first World Cup opener to feature three red cards.

The fixture was a repeat of the 2010 tournament opener, when South Africa held Mexico to a 1-1 draw in Johannesburg, yet this encounter was played out in a stadium with World Cup history stamped all over it.

The Azteca has witnessed some of the tournament’s most iconic moments, from Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ and 1986 heroics to Pelé’s all-conquering Brazil side of 1970.

While there was none of that era-defining quality on show on Thursday, it mattered little to the hordes of green-clad supporters, who had already been revved into frenzied excitement before a ball was kicked.

With the match played against a backdrop of protests that had threatened to bring Mexico City to a standstill, supporters were taking no chances, with many already hovering around the stadium nearly seven hours before kickoff.

Tone-deaf Infantino

The build-up to the opening World Cup game was dominated by comments that the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, made on the back of the US denying Somali referee Omar Artan entry into the country.

Artan had already touched down in Miami when the US State Department barred his entry, alleging he had “associated with suspected members of terrorist organisations”. The decision shattered his chance to become the first referee from his country to officiate at a World Cup.

“It is unfortunate what happened to Omar. But we don’t control everything. We try, we discuss, and we will speak,” said Infantino.

“Maybe sometimes it is good as well to just chill and relax. We work on everything and try to solve everything. Sometimes, to start screaming and shouting has the opposite effect of finding a solution,” the Fifa boss insisted.

“Believe me when I tell you, or don’t believe me if you want, we always try to find solutions. We are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces. We are a sports organisation,” stated Infantino.

“When I say ‘chill’ I don’t mean ‘chill and do nothing’. I mean to trust us. We always try to make the situation as positive as possible and find solutions. Sometimes we manage, sometimes we do not.” DM

Additional reporting by Reuters