{"id":730779,"date":"2026-06-11T23:36:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T23:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/730779\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T23:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T23:36:17","slug":"mexico-defeats-south-africa-2-0-in-the-world-cups-opening-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/730779\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexico defeats South Africa 2-0 in the World Cup\u2019s opening match"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>       <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-06-11t205638z-1116038793-up1em6b1lfit9-rtrmadp-3-soccer-worldcup-mex-zaf.JPG\" alt=\"An emotional Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez celebrates his goal that put Mexico up 2-0 in the second half.\" class=\"image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading\" onload=\"this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')\" onerror=\"imageLoadError(this)\" height=\"1980\" width=\"3063\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmqa0p16t000g3b6r5qmk9jia@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            For all the build-up and excitement ahead of kickoff, the first match of the World Cup was a relatively academic affair.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmqa0p51h000i3b6rrw18wfuc@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Mexico\u2019s 2-0 victory over South Africa on Thursday at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City was marked by three red cards, two goals and one massive tournament getting underway in earnest.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmqa0p51h000j3b6ryzz9kvc6@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            El Tri got off to a fast start with a goal in the ninth minute, though it sadly was all about a mistake from South Africa\u2019s Sphephelo Sithole who got caught on the ball as his team tried to play out from a goal kick. Juli\u00e1n Qui\u00f1ones made him pay with a fine finish, blasting a right-footed shot into the South African net.\n    <\/p>\n<p>       <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-06-11t191815z-1606686823-up1em6b1hmejr-rtrmadp-3-soccer-worldcup-mex-zaf.JPG\" alt=\"Juli\u00e1n Qui\u00f1ones put Mexico up early in the first half after a South African turnover.\" class=\"image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading\" onload=\"this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')\" onerror=\"imageLoadError(this)\" height=\"2582\" width=\"3961\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmqa0p51h000k3b6rg1rwrtgq@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Sithole\u2019s afternoon got worse just after halftime when he received the tournament\u2019s first red card, leaving Bafana Bafana with 10 men. The Mexicans would make them pay, as Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez scored his first World Cup goal for his country in an emotional moment.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmqa0p51h000l3b6routqb0wh@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The striker made a great run at the back post to nod in a fantastic cross. He burst into tears on the pitch after scoring, an emotional moment and a great comeback for the 35-year-old who suffered a serious head injury in 2020, which threatened his career. He was also playing in honor of his father, who died earlier this year.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmqa0p51h000m3b6r3pntdwqp@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The match ended with two different ugly moments as South Africa had another player sent off with a straight red card. Themba Zwane committed a needless foul, lashing out and catching his opponent with his hand off the ball.\n    <\/p>\n<p>       <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/gettyimages-2280453292.jpg\" alt=\"Referee Wilton Sampaio shows a red card to South Africa's Themba Zwane after video review. It was one of three red cards issued in the match.\" class=\"image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading\" onload=\"this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')\" onerror=\"imageLoadError(this)\" height=\"5504\" width=\"8256\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmqa0p51h000n3b6rz9coahb2@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            And just before the full-time whistle, Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio adjudged that C\u00e9sar Montes prevented a clear and obvious goalscoring opportunity by South Africa, which by the letter of the laws of soccer means a red card, despite its apparent harshness.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmqa0p51h000o3b6r79whf0h5@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            A few moments later, the full-time whistle blew and the Mexican fans could leave their legendary stadium thrilled. The tournament is well and truly underway, and their nation is likely on its way to the knockout rounds.\n    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For all the build-up and excitement ahead of kickoff, the first match of the World Cup was a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":730780,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-730779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/730780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}