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1 hour ago
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Key events
63 min “I didn’t have high hopes for this Mexican side, but maybe their long training camp has worked,” posits Kári Tulinius. They look like a team with a plan of attack. If England or Croatia end up facing them in a knockout tie, I don’t think the European side can expect to control the match. That said, as you’ve noted, South Africa haven’t been up to much.”
Yup, if the seeding works out, it’ll be Mexico v England at the Azteca in the last 16. England might, I think, be getting better at controlling games now they’ve got Tuchel as manager – Anderson, Rice, Bellingham is a proper midfield, though I’d be thinking about sneaking Mainoo in for the first of those. We can never be sure they’ll turn up on the day, but I’m beginning to like their chances even if I think a few mistakes were made with the squad selected.
61 min Another change for SA, the veteran midfielder Zwame replacing the disappointing Adams.
60 min I hate to say it, I really do, but SA have been absolutely dreadful today. However they’re still in the game and, if they can avoid conceding a second, you never know what might happen on the counter or from a set-piece – and if the score stays as it, Mexico will get nervous, unsure whether to stick or twist.
58 min Mexico win a free0kick down the right, Gutierrez behind it, and he teases in an outswinger for Reyes, off whose head the ball skids to safety.
57 min Change for Mexico, Mbatha replacing Foster.
56 min A rare sortie forward for SA, Modiba looking up 25 yards out and, with no one closing, he opts for a shot, Rangel failing to hold the ball, not for the first time, but tidying thereafter.
55 min “My first World Cup memory was as a nine-year old in 1966,” says Tim Brightwell. “I watched the final on our black and white set. A mixed day of sun and showers. It was an uncomfortable watch. The agony of West Germany’s late equaliser followed by pure joy in extra time.
After the final whistle, ecstatic, I quickly grabbed my football and ran to my friend Geoff’s house to celebrate with a kickabout. I knocked on his door. His mother answered. Could Geoff come out to play? I asked. No! she replied. But England have just won the World Cup, I pleaded. I don’t care, she said, he’s having his tea!”
What was on the menu? We must be told!
53 min Mexico push for a second, winning a corner down the left that’s cleared. SA just want it all to be over, but know their World Cp will be decided by the games against South Korea and Czechia, who meet later on.
52 min Jimenez will take Mexico’s free-kick, almost dead centre and just outside the D … which he hits straight into the wall.
RED CARD FOR SOUTH AFRICA'S SITHOLE!
50 min Oh my days, poor Sithole is having one. A ball in behind and again, Gutierrez is the man making the run, this time through the middle. He’s really crafty in cutting across poor Sithole, as he’ll be known forever more, making almost impossible for him not be fouled, and sure enough, heel catches shin or shin catches heel, the ref has a quick think, then shows the red card. Agony for the SA man, all his life striving to get to this, and now look.
48 min What on earth was said in the SA dressing room at half-time? “All good lads, just keep doing what you’re doing?
46 min Gosh, SA make a mess immediately and when I tell you what happened, you won’t believe me, but here we go. Williams passes out, dead straight, to Sithole, who didn’t want it last time and definitely doesn’t want it now. Well, it’s his lucky day, because this time the pass is so poor it doesn’t reach him, going straight to Fidalgo, who rolls studs over it to move past the defender, should shoot, doesn’t, takes another touch that takes him too wide, so when he screws square, Williams can smother.
46 min We go again…
“Like Arran Robertson, my first World Cup memory is the 2006 edition at six years old,” says Daniel Halladay. “I recall watching the final at a friend’s house, though I have precisely zero memory of the Zidane headbutt, despite the fact that it’s quite possibly the tournament’s most shocking moment. Instead, I distinctly remember watching David Trezeguet hit the bar with his penalty, as well as a television commercial involving cavemen (I believe it was for FedEx).
Also like Arran, my father and I are regular MBM correspondents, though at the time of writing we are yet to both feature in the same one.”
My old fella barely knows what one is and has definitely never read one. But that’s one for my therapist, because our teams are back with us.
Half-time email: “I was 9-years-old in ‘66 for my first,” says Roger Kirkby, “and obviously watched it at home with my family. I always wondered what that night was like for the pub-going generation. After starting work I asked a guy who was 10 years older than me what was it like for him. He said he watched it at home, went down the pub at seven and left just after nine because they wanted to watch the replay at 10 and the pub had no telly. Most underwhelming.”
Swinging Sixties or what?
Siri, what is art?
HALF-TIME: Mexico 1-0 South Africa
Mexico have played fairly well; South Africa have barely played at all.
45+3 min SA need to have a word with themselves because this has been a total no-show. And as i type, they almost concede a second, Gutierrez – who’s been the best player on the park – again breaking into the box at inside-left, shaping to curl towards the far corner but changing his mind at the last second, attempting a toe-bunger and skewing the ball sideways.
45+1 min We’ll have four additional minutes.
45 min “Ally McCoist and Jon Champion should probably steer clear of politics,” says my colleague Philip Cornwall, “given their claim that Claudia Sheinbaum is unpopular and would need to give away tickets to the entire population to rescue her position. Not even in his delusions does Donald Trump have an approval rating approaching 70%.”
Assuming he can stay awake long enough to complete them, of course.
43 min But here come Mexico again. Montes retrieving a ball that’s run away towards the right side of the box and feeing into Quinones, whose touch is lovely – so too the use of his body to hold off the defender. Back to goal, he ushers into the path of Gutierrez, who caresses a side-footer goalwards … but into the base of the near post. Lovely football, no reward.
42 min Mexico probe outside the box and a lovely clip into the box from Gallardo picks out Jimenez, the keeper unable to move till he sees if there’s any connection … and there isn’t, the ball running away.
40 min Sithole, who’ll still be feeling poorly after his goal-creating mistake, is late on Lira, knee digging into thigh to administer a dead leg. With no yellow card shown, as per the new law, if Lira needs treatment, he’ll have to leAve the pitch … but he’s OK.
39 min “1966 for me,” emails Alan Kirkup. “Dad (who was a professional footballer in his younger days) had booked a family holiday at a B&B in Cumberland the week of the final. He reckoned England had no chance of reaching that far so no problem. Sadly the B&B had no TV, so there we were with a few others outside a tv show room in Keswick watching the final. My memory is that the shop owner decided to close up at half-time. We never saw the rest of the game…”
He did what?!
38 min Better from SA, Mbokazi crossing from the left but without much pace, so when Foster jumps to head, he’s got to really crank his neck muscles, sending a floaty effort wide.
35 min Quinones appears near the left corner of the box, looking inside to feed a cunningly disguised reverse-pass down the line for Alvarado, who takes a touch when he shouldn’t and crosses low to the keeper.
33 min “1966 for me, as a 12-year-old, recalls Richard Hirst. “Vividly recall hiding my face behind a cushion when West Germany equalised so my parents couldn’t see me crying. But it turned out all right in the end. Then there were the incomparable Brazilians of 1970, the best I’ve ever seen. But then the greatest team to not win the World Cup: the Dutch in 1974 and 1978. That’s when I knew for sure that football wasn’t fair (though having watched Fulham since 1965 I should already have known!). I’ve not been so invested in a World Cup final since.”
I’d say Brazil1 982 were better than the Netherlands without Cruyff and Van Hanegem, Hungary 1954 also, but no, football definitely isn’t fair. Luckily, life is.
32 min The break has interrupted the flow somewhat – I daresay there’ll be teams glad of it when on the rack, because momentum is crucial to breaking down a rearguard. Burt as I type, a long ball finds Modiba down the left, and his cross goes behind off Reyes … then the offside flag goes up.
30 min Fidalgo slides a pass into the box for Gutierrez, who looks to jink by Okon to create a shooting lane … but the defender does really well to block.
28 min “Watching that clip of the 2010 opening match betwen Mexico and South Africa, the background buzz of the vuvuzela has transformed in my awareness from something that everyone was raging about at the time to an instantly recognisable identifier that we’re watching South Africa 2010,” reckons Daniel Stuass. “Maybe not ‘bring back the vuvuzela’, but certainly a nice bit of nostalgia lo these many years later.”
I agree – one of the things I love most about World Cups is the local vibe, and that one had plenty.
27 min We go again, the three minutes we missed to be added on at the end of the first half.
25 min The free-kick is headed clear, then it’s time for a drink. SA could use a stiff one, though, they’ve been a little better the last few minutes.
23 min Rangel fumbles what the rules of footballing vernacular demand i call a searching cross, so SA pick up possession and Mokoena beats Gutierrez down the right, but not the following plough-through; Gutierrez becomes the second player to be booked.
22 min Mexico attack again, again from the right, with Alvarado crossing … and Mbokazi heading clear. After which we cut to the leather posh seats, where Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Roberto Baggio are sat in a classic “there they are, the lads” situation.
20 min Quinones picks up a decent position at inside-right and, feeling himself, he ignores the run of Fidalgo to swat a rising shot which flashes over the near angle.
19 min It’ll be interesting to see how strict the refs are when it comes to brandishing cards. On the one hand, they’ll want to keep it 11 v 11, but on the other, won’t get the same enjoyment from a free-for-all that the rest of us might.
16 min It’s still all Mexico, Gutierrez moving down the right before losing possession and conceding a free-kick Can SA use the opportunity to build? Well, they do get the ball forward for the first time, but then a cross is headed clear and Mokoena, beaten by a nice touch from Fidalgo, who sees him coming, so waits and nicks off before wearing he foul. Mokoena is booked.
14 min “The first World Cup that meant anything to me was 1966,” writes Mike Barron. “I was eight and hung on my grandad’s every football wisdom. He’d taken me to my first game the season before – Loftus Road, QPR, Division 3. We watched the final together, having been excused from attending his next-door neighbour’s daughter’s wedding. All the rest of the family went. Our non-attendance was never questioned! Watched the rerun again on Channel 4 on Saturday. Such memories.”
13 min But here Quinones is again, winning a corner down the left, and SA need to be careful because if they don’t rouse themselves, this game could be over before they’ve participated in it.
11 min Quinones actually did a fairly decent job of holding it down after the goal – he ran about, of course, but given the emotion of the occasion, anything could’ve happened.
GOAL! Mexico 1-0 South Africa (Quinones 9)
Or not! Williams passes out to Sithole, who I don’t think wants it there, but even so, his first touch is miserable – though Lira snaps into the tackle with impressive zeal. The ball breaks to Quinones, he advances, shoots through the keeper’s legs, and he’s just scored the opening goal of a home World Cup at Estadio Azteca! What a feeling!
9 min We’ve see nothing of SA as an attacking force so far, but I imagine they’re looking to take the sting out of things and keep it tight in tha meantime.
7 min “I’m here in México (at a friend’s house, who can afford the stadium?!)” begins Christine Fears. Here’s the Mexican playlist we were listening to this morning:
Also, the, ahem, older rockers at the start of the ceremony were a band called Mana. Something of a one-hit wonder apparently, but get wheeled out for events!”
Quality, will look forward to that – thanks.
6 min My daughter knocks at the door so i leave her standing there while I wait for Mexco to make a mess of their corner; take your key, child!
5 min Reyes skates down the right and on the outside, cutting back a cross to the edge, and Raul Jimenez arrives on to it beautifully! But he manages only a shinner, allowing Williams to plunge right and tip it behind.
3 min Modiba lunges in on Alvarado so late it’s almost bedtime, so Mexico have a free-kick 40- yards from goal, which Gutierrez looks to sneak around the near-side of the wall … hitting it instead.
2 min Mexico knock it about, SA back in shape, and the home crowd cheering every touch their team take and jeering each one taken by the visitors.
1 min “My first World Cup memory was Spain 82 and discovering for the first time as a 10-year-old a certain footballing nation called Brazil,” says Simon Craig. “Everyone at school tried to copy either Zico, Socrates or Eder at break time. I’d never shed tears over a football match but it happened when they tragically went out to Italy in the quarters. The best team never to have won the World Cup.”
The Brazilian football writer, Juca Kfouri, once said something like “Zico never won the World Cup? That’s the World Cup’s problem.”
1 min Mexico kick off and the 2026 men’s World Cup is go!
We’re ready to go…
The Mexico anthem is done a cappella, a nice touch – but I’d like to get a bit closer so we can hear the players sing.
“My first World Cup memory is watching England lose to Portugal on penalties in 2006 at a pub in New Jersey at 6 years old, says Arran Robertson. “My dad (Kyle Robertson of the 19.31 post) and his friend frequently talk about looking at my face of despair and hopelessness and feeling immense guilt for what they had subjected me to. Not much has changed. They also reckon no one paid and just left once England had lost.”
I think this father/son situation may be an MBM first; lovely stuff.
Anthem time!
Righto, our teams are tunnelled and … here they come! Out into the Azteca, the most storied stadium in World Cup history; I can’t begin to fathom how they and their families are feeling, but I’m feeling a way even thinking about it, so I’ve not a clue how they cope.
Of course, our teams for this one met in the 2010 opener too, perhaps Peter Drury’s finest hour.
“My first World Cup was 1966 when I spent the afternoon working in a petrol station in Solihull with only a small transistor radio for company,” says Derek Bishton. “I volunteered for the afternoon shift because the owner was offering double time and as I was a struggling 17-year-old student, I needed the money. Actually, it was the easiest money I ever earnt because not one single car pulled in for petrol during the whole of the game, which of course included extra time. And when the cars finally turned up, most of the drivers were so happy I made a mint out of the tips. I didn’t see the final until some time later when a wonderful colour movie of the tournament was released.”
Brilliant – and for those unacquainted, the World Cup films are terrific historical pieces.
We’ve been taken back to the Azteca to see the competing countries introduced. I hope there’s time to get all 94,635 in before kick-off, 15 minutes from now.
“The first World Cup I remember was 1966, in hindsight one for the ages!” reckons David C Hunter. “I was at Winchester Cathedral participating as a chorister in the Chichester Cathedral Choir. We had a rehearsal the afternoon of the final. Several of the men in the choirs had transistor radios and those bulky earpieces with twisted pink wire. Whenever a team scored they’d use fingers to relay the score. Tied at full time, we were all on edge. The director was the Master of the Winchester choir who was, shall we say, a little overdue for retirement. He was not interested in the game. Trouble was we not as interested in the music as we had been the previous year, when we gave the premiere of the Chichester Psalms and Bernstein had been present. I recall Winchester being bright and airy and everyone cheering once the final whistle blew.
I don’t have any idea how the concert that evening went, but the win was stupendous!”
I’m sad this email didn’t come with a sound recording.
