South Korea · Bangkok Post
Mexico get World Cup party started with win as South Africa see red
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MEXICO CITY - Mexico got the World Cup party started as the co-hosts swept away South Africa 2-0 on Thursday in a tempestuous clash with three red cards as the pyrotechnic smoke of the opening ceremony gave way to a cloud of red mist at the rocking Azteca Stadium.
Key facts
- MEXICO CITY - Mexico got the World Cup party started as the co-hosts swept away South Africa 2-0 on Thursday in a tempestuous clash with three red cards as the pyrotechnic smoke of the opening ceremony gave way to a cloud of red mist at
- The match fired the starting gun for the quadrennial extravaganza, yet the scrappy encounter will likely be remembered not for its thrilling football but for its flurry of dismissals.
- 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.
- Yet South Africa were reduced to 10 men when Sphephelo Sithole was sent off early in the second half, with his teammate Themba Zwane following him off the pitch before Mexico's Cesar Montes was dismissed in the dying moments.
Summary
The match fired the starting gun for the quadrennial extravaganza, yet the scrappy encounter will likely be remembered not for its thrilling football but for its flurry of dismissals.
Julian Quinones's early strike set the tone for a dominant Mexican display in the Group A match with Raul Jimenez's header midway through the second half removing any lingering tension for the home crowd.