World Cup 2026: at fault for Mexico's goal then sent off, the nightmare evening of Yaya Sithole and South Africa

Africa Today at 16:46

Nouya M'toama

News Editor

The opening match of the 2026 World Cup will go down as one of the toughest nights in Yaya Sithole’s career. Against Mexico, in the electrifying atmosphere of the Estadio Azteca, the South African midfielder endured a nightmare evening, marked by a costly error leading to the opening goal and then an early second-half red card.

Problems began for the Bafana Bafana player as early as the 9th minute. After a short pass from his captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, Sithole called for the ball but failed to control it in a particularly dangerous area. Mexico’s Erik Lira pressed aggressively, forcing the mistake. The ball was won back and played to Julián Quiñones, who made no mistake, firing a clinical shot through Williams’ legs to open the scoring in front of the 80,824 fans at the Azteca.

First player sent off at the 2026 World Cup

Already struggling to cope with the intensity and movement of Mexico’s forwards, Sithole never managed to regain his composure. Just a few minutes after the break, his evening took a definitive turn for the worse.

Beaten by an opponent racing towards goal, the South African committed a blatant foul to stop the attack. As the last defender, he left Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio with no choice but to show a straight red card.

This sending off made Yaya Sithole the first player to be expelled from the 2026 World Cup. Down to ten men for most of the second half, South Africa found themselves in an extremely tough spot against the host nation.