Yaya Sithole has become the first player to get a red card at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, creating a record he would rather not have.
The CD Tondela midfielder started for Bafana Bafana in their first Group A match and hoped to help his team begin the tournament well.
But South Africa had a difficult start against the host country and struggled to deal with the pressure.
The match was played at the famous Estadio Azteca, where South Africa faced attacks from Mexico from the very beginning.
Mexico scored first in the 9th minute after a mistake by the South African defence. Julian Quinones reacted quickly, took advantage of the error, and calmly scored to put Mexico ahead. The goal sparked huge celebrations in the stadium.
That early goal helped Mexico go into halftime with control of the match.
South Africa came back for the second half hoping to fight their way back into the game, but things became even harder for them soon after the restart.
