Could Raúl Jiménez top the scoring charts at the 2026 World Cup? He certainly started in fantastic fashion.
Mexico opened their tournament at the iconic Estadio Azteca with a dominant 2-0 victory over South Africa.
Julián Quiñones opened the scoring from the edge of the box, capitalising on South Africa’s willingness to play out from the back. Jiménez then added the icing on the cake in the 66th minute with a vintage header that sent the Mexican crowd wild.
The striker now has 46 international goals to his name and sits joint-second on Mexico’s all-time scoring list. His goal at the Azteca was also the first World Cup goal of his career, and many are predicting, using odds checkers like Boostfinder, that he has a chance of finishing as the tournament’s top scorer.
Now that he has finally broken his World Cup duck, could the weight be lifted from his shoulders as he looks to fire Mexico deep into the tournament?
His manager, Javier Aguirre, who didn’t hold back his admiration for the 35-year-old striker after the final whistle.
Aguirre also spoke about Jiménez’s journey back to the World Cup stage after the serious skull fracture he suffered in 2020. He also reflected on the difficult few months the striker has endured following the passing of his father, Raúl Jiménez Vega, in March.
“I read an interview where he said this has to be his World Cup. I think he got off to a flying start. He had always been in someone else’s shadow, but today he is a starter for this team — and he has truly earned it. On top of that, he was dealing with a personal situation that may have given him extra motivation. And he even scored a goal. It was a perfect day for him.”
On the whole, it was a promising performance from Mexico, a side that entered the tournament with several question marks. How would they play? How would they perform under the pressure of hosting a World Cup opener?
Based on this display, Mexican fans will have plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The atmosphere at the Azteca was electric, and the players responded with a confident and controlled performance.
For South Africa, however, there is work to do. Their willingness to play out from the back was admirable, but they rarely looked capable of troubling the Mexican defence and struggled to create meaningful attacking opportunities.
Things became even more difficult when Yaya Sithole was sent off in the 49th minute. It proved to be a chaotic evening, with Temba Zwane also shown a red card for an elbowing incident. Mexico were reduced to ten men as well when Cesar Montes received his marching orders, meaning the match finished 10 v 9.
South Africa now have two suspended players to replace for their next fixture, while Mexico will be without one.
Jiménez and Mexico will take on South Korea in Guadalajara on Friday, while South Africa face the Czech Republic in Atlanta.
Speaking of South Korea and the Czech Republic, the two sides produced an entertaining encounter of their own.
Despite South Korea enjoying much of the possession and creating the better chances, it was the Czech Republic who struck first. In the second half, a cross from Vladimir Coufal found Ladislav Krejčí, who fired the Czechs into the lead.
South Korea responded quickly. Hwang In-beom levelled matters in the 67th minute with a lovely piece of skill before delicately lifting the ball over goalkeeper Matěj Kovář.
The midfielder was at the heart of everything good for the Koreans and played a decisive role again in the 80th minute, this time providing the assist for Oh Hyeon-gyu to complete the turnaround.
It was a bright start to the tournament for South Korea, who showed resilience to recover from a goal down and claim all three points. The victory leaves them in a strong position ahead of their meeting with Mexico in what could prove to be a crucial clash in Group A.
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