Mexico start with three points, and the Azteca gets the night it wanted.

Mexico open the World Cup with a 2-0 win, and the Azteca can finally breathe out.

Mexico needed a start without panic, and that is eventually what they produced. Quinones gave the night its first release, Jimenez added the second, and the final whistle felt more like confirmation than escape.

The first stretch still carried the usual nerves. You could hear it in the crowd and see it in the passing: a touch rushed here, a decision delayed there, that familiar weight that comes with starting a World Cup at the Azteca. But once Mexico found a better rhythm and started getting closer to the South Africa box with purpose, the stadium changed with them. The noise stopped sounding anxious and started sounding expectant.

Mexico won this match by growing into it and then refusing to give it back.

That is the part that matters most after the scoreline. A 1-0 lead on opening night can still leave a team tense, especially in a stadium that remembers every wobble. Mexico did not spend the second half inviting pressure. They kept enough edge in their play to force South Africa to defend honestly, and when Raul Jimenez made it 2-0 in the 67th minute, the whole evening finally tilted from edgy to controlled.

There is history sitting behind that too. The last time these countries met in a World Cup opener, back in 2010, Mexico had to settle for a 1-1 draw. This time the rematch never drifted into the same uncertainty. Mexico still had nervous passages, but once they took hold of the game they did not hand it back.

The match also got chippy late. South Africa finished with two red cards, and Mexico also lost Cesar Montes to a late dismissal in stoppage time. But by then the result was already in Mexico's hands. The main job on opening night was to take the points, steady the nerves, and leave with momentum. El Tri did all three.

What this result means now

Mexico have given themselves the exact kind of start Javier Aguirre would have wanted: no opening-night stumble, no draining late collapse, and no immediate need to chase the group from behind. That matters because the second match against South Korea now arrives with a chance to press the advantage instead of repair damage.

That is why this 2-0 feels useful as much as emotional. The Azteca got its release, the squad got its first three points, and the schedule now opens forward. Mexico do not leave this match with everything solved, but they do leave it with the one thing every host wants after the opener: a calmer week.