KEIR RADNEDGE in MEXICO CITY —- Finally, eight years after the hosting award, the destiny of the 2026 World Cup is in the hands of the players rather than the politicians, sporting and otherwise.

Mexico, welcoming the finals for a record third time, stole a march on partners Canada and United States by launching the record, expanded three-way hosting with a comparatively simple 2-0 win over a poor South Africa.

Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez scored in a match tainted by three red cards, one for the hosts’ Cesar Montes in stoppage time and two earlier in the second half for Yaya Sithole and substitute Themba Zwane.

A tidy opening ceremony featuring Shakira, local celeb Salma Hayek, FIFA anthem favourite Andrea Bocelli [with Ejae] a flags parade and the anthems set up a lively atmosphere which roused the Mexican players and intimidated Bafana Bafana.

The Mexicans, impelled by the hosting status and noisy expectation of their fans. threw themselves briskly into the match from kickoff. South Africa were nervy and indecisive in the opening exchanges and paid the price. They escaped once, thanks to the diving stretch of Ronwen Williams, to a shot from Raul Jimenez but were not so lucky minutes later.

Williams played a clearance lazily out to Sithole who was robbed by Erik Lira and Julian Quinones fired the opening goal of the 2026 finals between the goalkeeper’s legs.

Teboho Mokoena had the minor dubious honour of being shown the first yellow card just before the water break and South Africa did improve a little on the resumption. Lyle Foster headed their only chance weakly wide while Mexico saw Jimenez foiled again by Williams’s fingertips.

Four minutes into the second half South Africa’s faint hopes of mounting a revival faded when Sithole was sent off for pulling down the free-running Brian Gutierrez just outside the penalty box. The free kick was wasted but, no matter, in the 69^th minute Jimenez headed the second from Roberto Alvarado’s right-wing cross.  

Zwane was despatched shortly afterwards for an off-the-ball tangle with Alvarado and Montes two minutes into stoppage time for a crude assault on Khuliso Mudau. All told a match which is best forgotten though, not of course, by Mexico.

Canada and then the US

Next ‘opening’ sees Canada’s kick off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto before Mauricio Pocettino’s United States begin their own home campaign against Paraguay in Inglewood, California. .

A tennis-style system based on the FIFA world rankings seeded the top team for each of the 12 first round groups. A further refinement ensured that the four top-ranked nations – Spain, Argentina, France and England – could not meet before the semi-finals, assuming they all won their groups and each succeeding knockout tie. The top two and the eight third-placed teams with the best record progress to the 32-team knockout stage.

Brazil, the record five-times champions, kick off against 2022 semi-finalists Morocco in Group C which includes Scotland and Haiti. Germany, four-times champions, begin against minnow newcomers Curaçao indoors in Houston.

Their Group E tie epitomises the worldwide stretch of the World Cup. Curaçao are the smallest-ever finalists while Germany’s Deutscher Fussball-Bund is the world’s largest national sports association, with more than 8m members.

England, winners in 1966, start against Croatia, who beat them in 2028 semi-finals, while two former Cup-winners in Spain and Uruguay feature in Group H. Spain, the current European champions, open against newcomers Cape Verde.

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