International News: Mexico wins World Cup opener game in historic 2026 World Cup
By Zoila Palma: Co-host Mexico opened the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 2-0 victory over South Africa today at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, marking the start of the largest tournament in World Cup history. The win was a historic one for Mexico, which had never previously won a World Cup opening match, having recorded […] The post International News: Mexico wins World Cup opener game in historic 2026 World Cup appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
Black News 
By Zoila Palma: Co-host Mexico opened the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 2-0 victory over South Africa today at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, marking the start of the largest tournament in World Cup history.
The win was a historic one for Mexico, which had never previously won a World Cup opening match, having recorded five losses and two draws in past tournament openers.
More than 80,000 fans packed the renovated Estadio Azteca, which became the first stadium to host matches in three different World Cups.
The home crowd erupted in celebration less than nine minutes into the match when Julián Quiñones scored through the legs of South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams. The goal was the earliest scored in a World Cup since Germany’s Philipp Lahm found the net after six minutes in the 2006 tournament.
South Africa’s chances of mounting a comeback suffered a major setback early in the second half when midfielder Sphephelo “Yaya” Sithole received a straight red card for bringing down Brian Gutiérrez near the penalty area.
Mexico later doubled its lead when veteran striker Raúl Jiménez headed home from close range midway through the second half, scoring his first World Cup goal after appearing in three tournaments. The goal was his 46th for Mexico, tying him with Jared Borgetti for second place on the national team’s all-time scoring list.
Mexico also handed a World Cup debut to 17-year-old Gilberto Mora, who became the youngest player ever to represent Mexico at the tournament and the sixth-youngest player in World Cup history.
The post International News: Mexico wins World Cup opener game in historic 2026 World Cup appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
