Three red cards in Mexico vs South Africa: Has a World Cup opener had so many players sent off?

South Africa were reduced to ten men early in their 2026 FIFA World Cup opener against Mexico after Sphephelo Sithole was shown a red card in the 49th minute. The defender was dismissed following a last-man foul on a Mexico attacking move, leaving Bafana Bafana with a difficult challenge at Estadio Azteca.

The incident immediately shifted the momentum of the match, forcing South Africa into a more defensive shape while Mexico pushed to capitalize on the numerical advantage in front of their home crowd.

Later in the match, Themba Zwane was also sent off in the 85th minute for a reckless challenge, compounding South Africa’s problems and leaving the visitors with two dismissals in the opening game.

In stoppage time, César Montes was then shown a red card in the 90+2 minute, adding further drama to an already heated World Cup opener and marking a rare instance of three players being sent off in a single match to start the tournament.

Red cards in World Cup opening matches are extremely rare, making the triple dismissal of Sphephelo Sithole, Themba Zwane, and César Montes a historic moment in tournament history. Only a handful of players have ever been sent off in a World Cup opener, with Mexico vs South Africa now standing as the first opening match to feature three red cards.

The only previous example came in the 1990 World Cup opening game between Argentina and Cameroon, when two Cameroonian players were shown red cards: André Kana-Biyik (Cameroon) – 61st minute, and Benjamin Massing (Cameroon) – 89th minute.

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What does this mean for South Africa?

Playing with nine men for most of the second half significantly complicated South Africa’s chances against Mexico. The team had to reorganize defensively and rely on counterattacks to stay competitive in the match.

Mexico, meanwhile, finished the game with ten men after César Montes was sent off in stoppage time, but still managed to secure a 2–0 victory in front of 80,000+ fans at Estadio Azteca to open their 2026 World Cup campaign with a strong result at home.