The World Cup began with an explosion of emotions in the Azteca Stadium, named for this 2026 World Cup as “Mexico City”, where the Mexican team debuted against South Africa.
From the first minute, the Aztec team came out driven by the fervor of their fans, who filled the venue and turned the atmosphere into a true football party.
Mexico showed intensity, character and ambition from the start, with high pressure and constant arrivals to the rival area. The team presented an offensive proposal and soon imposed conditions against a cautious South African team that had difficulty playing.
The reward came minute 9, when Mexico scored the first goal of the World Cup. Forward Julián Andrés Quiñones, player for Al-Qadisiyah of Saudi Arabia, wrote his name in the history of the tournament.
The play originated after an imprecise start by South Africa, well taken advantage of by the Mexican pressure. Quiñones recovered the ball, controlled it with nerve and finished with a low, placed right-footed shot that beat goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
The goal unleashed euphoria in the Azteca Stadium. Thus, Julián Quiñones, a striker of Colombian descent who became a Mexican national, became the scorer of the first goal of the tournament and made a promising start for Mexico in the greatest football festival.
THE SOUTH AFRICA LIA AT THE DEPARTURE! GOAL BY JULIAN QUIÑONES! 😲
Mexico 1-0 South Africa pic.twitter.com/MX3cA2gO0g
— Pedro Fermín Cano (@pfermincano) June 11, 2026