Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in World Cup 2026 opener, as African fans online backed El Tri amid xenophobia debate.
Mexico opened the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a win at home, and a big part of the noise online was not about the goals. It was about who Africans were cheering for.
El Tri beat Bafana Bafana 2-0 on Thursday, June 11, at the Mexico City Stadium, Estadio Azteca.
It was the official tournament opener for Group A, a repeat of the famous 2010 opener. Mexico took the lead in the first half, added a second after the break, and saw three red cards in a heated second half, two for South Africa and one for Mexico.
A home crowd, with an African twist
Inside the Azteca, it was green everywhere. Outside, it was the same story on African timelines.
In the 24 hours after kickoff, Instagram and Threads were flooded with videos of Nigerian, Ghanaian, Congolese and Ivorian fans in Mexico jerseys, sombreros and flag ponchos, chanting "Viva Mexico" in parking lots, fan zones in Atlanta, and even in Lagos studios.
One viral creator put it bluntly: "Bro I was shocked at the amount of support Mexico was getting from Africa". Another reel that hit 57k likes was captioned simply, "All Africa is supporting México against South Africa".
Why the switch? Three things fans kept saying, This was not really about tactics. It was about politics and banter.
1. Xenophobia backlash.
The dominant reason fans gave on camera was South Africa's recent xenophobic attacks on fellow Africans. A BBC News Africa street vox in Atlanta had fans from DR Congo, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana saying exactly that, that solidarity broke after the attacks. Nigerian TV panels on Arise News framed it the same way, jokingly telling Nigerians to "support Mexico" to avoid trouble.
2. The meme took over.
Once the jerseys came out, it became a continental joke. "Mexico gained 1.4 billion new cousins for 90 minutes," one top comment read. Clips of Africans learning Spanish chants, dancing banda music in a Mexican souvenir shop, and sprinting with a gold trophy replica pushed the trend past football.
3. Pan-African frustration.
A lot of the posts were self-critical. Creators like KlintonCod asked why Africans would not back their own, and called for "one Africa again" next time. The Nigeria-Ghana jollof and accent banter kept popping up in the comments too, showing how intra-African rivalries fed the whole thing.
Not everyone agreed. Several South African fans defended Bafana Bafana's return after 16 years out, and others warned the jokes were crossing into hate.
What happened on the pitch
It was a professional job from Mexico. With Raúl Jiménez leading the line and Edson Álvarez controlling midfield, El Tri were favorites at home, and they played like it.
Julián Quiñones got on the scoresheet in the 2-0 win, with Nigerian fans in Mexico City joking afterwards that "a black man scored the first goal for Africa". South Africa coach Hugo Broos called the night "real, real death" in his post-match presser.
Bafana Bafana will need points against South Korea and Czechia to stay alive in Group A.
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