The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off with a thumping victory by the co-hosts Mexico against South Africa and Raul Jimenez stole the show with his goal. He celebrated his goal with a roar to vent his frustration but soon after he broke into tears thinking of all that he had been through. He looked to the heavens and dedicated his first ever-World Cup goal to his late father, Raúl Jiménez Vega, who passed away earlier this March. Raul Jimenez scored his first ever goal in the tournament and it came in the first game of the sixth World Cup that he has been featuring in. It was the best moment of Matchday 1 and the fans were overwhelmed to see Raul Jimenez undergo the mix of emotions.

Mexico were firmly in control of the game right from the start of the game as they held the possession for most of the game. Julián Quiñones drew first blood in the encounter with a fine strike off the mistake of the South African backline. There were plenty of chances that were created by Mexico and the defensive line of the South African side was all over the place. Mexico ended up winning the game 2-0 against South Africa and they have been off to a fine start in this edition of the FIFA World Cup.

Mexico cruise past South Africa in dramatic World Cup opener

In the 67th minute of the second half of the game, Mexico made a quick attempt to score with a couple of fine passes. Roberto Alvarado moved brilliantly at the flank and delivered the perfect cross into the box and all it needed was just a touch to get it past the goalkeeper. Raul Jimenez charged into the box unmarked and he dispatched the header into the back of the net to get his first World Cup goal.

The tears that overflowed following his celebration sighted at the struggles he had to endure to reach here. He underwent a skull fracture while playing for Wolves and his career was on the line and he was absent from the big stage for 8 months. It took a massive toll on his mental health and today, Raul Jimenez broke his World Cup-goal scoring curse.

The first game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup could be considered as one of the most eventful opening games in the history of the tournament. Having two iconic goals being scored in the game by Mexico, the viewers would have thought that they had seen everything in the game.

A red-card had come in the game in the 50th minute of the game as Yaya Sithole was sent-off the pitch. Then later on in the 84th minute of the game, Themba Zwane was shown the red and Cesar Montes was sent off in the injury time as well. It was a game that had everything from the most bizarre stats to a wonderful goal scored by Raul Jimenez after years of his World Cup goal-scoring drought.