Defeat South Africa 2-0; Three Red Cards Shown in the Match
Mexico City : In the FIFA World Cup opener played here after midnight on Thursday (Indian time), co-hosts Mexico registered a thrilling and impressive start to their campaign by defeating South Africa 2-0 in front of a crowd of 80,824 spectators. The celebrations began as early as the ninth minute of the match.
Twenty-nine-year-old forward Julian Quinones scored the first goal of the World Cup in the ninth minute, prompting some excited Mexican fans in the stadium to throw beer, soda and other drink bottles onto the field. The bottles were not thrown in protest or as an act of hooliganism, but rather as an expression of joy following Mexico’s first goal in this historic World Cup match.
The contest witnessed intense battles between the players of both teams, with the referee issuing a total of three red cards. Two of them were shown to South African players, while one was shown to a Mexican player.
Colombian-Born Mexican Star Shines
Mexico forward Quinones was born in Colombia and represented that country at the youth level during his teenage years. However, he later switched allegiance and began playing international football for Mexico.
On Thursday, he scored the fourth international goal of his career. With a right-footed strike into the back of the net, he opened the scoring not only for Mexico but also for the 23rd FIFA World Cup.
Second Goal Comes in the 67th Minute
No further goals were scored until the 67th minute, when Mexico’s R. Jimenez found the net to strengthen his team’s dominance and effectively put the match beyond South Africa’s reach.
Mexico’s Strong Defensive Wall
The World Cup is being jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, and Mexico’s defenders, along with veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, built an almost impenetrable defensive wall. As a result, South Africa failed to score despite several attempts throughout the match.
Rain Arrives Immediately After the Final Whistle
Interestingly, the weather held up throughout the game. However, as soon as the referee blew the final whistle following the completion of stoppage time after the regulation 90 minutes, rain began to pour over the stadium.
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