Mexico vs. South Africa: Head-to-head record and past meetings ahead of World Cup 2026 opener

Mexico and South Africa will kick-start the 2026 World Cup when they lock horns in their opening Group A fixture at Mexico City Stadium on Thursday night.

El Tri, one of three co-hosts along with the United States and Canada this summer, enter the newly-expanded 48-team tournament in high spirits after thrashing Serbia 5-1 in their final warm-up fixture last Friday.

Meanwhile, Bafana Bafana played out a 1-1 draw with Jamaica in a behind-closed-doors friendly last Saturday and are bidding to end a five-match winless run in all competitions.

Ahead of Thursday's eagerly-anticipated contest, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two nations.

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 4

Mexico wins: 2

Draws: 1

South Africa wins: 1

Mexico and South Africa have faced each other just four times on the international stage, spanning both competitive and friendly fixtures, and El Tri edge the head-to-head battle with two wins to Bafana Bafana's one.

October 1993 was the first time these two nations butted heads in a friendly fixture held in Los Angeles, where Benjamin Galindo scored a second-half brace for Mexico in a comfortable 4-0 victory.

Almost seven years later, Mexico and South Africa competed at the US Nike Cup, a friendly four-team tournament along with the United States and Republic of Ireland. El Tri recorded a 4-2 win thanks to two goals from Horacio Sanchez, but USA ultimately came out on top in the round-robin format.

In July 2005, South Africa were invited to participate in the CONCACAF Gold Cup - the premier continental tournament for national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean - and they were draw into the same group as Mexico.

Philip Evans and Elrio Van Heerden were both on target as Bafana Bafana secured a surprise 2-1 victory over El Tri. Both nations advanced from their group to the knockout rounds, but they were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

The most iconic clash between these two nations came at the 2010 World Cup, held in South Africa. The opening match of the tournament ended in a 1-1 draw in Johannesburg, where Siphiwe Tshabalala's stunning opener for the hosts was cancelled out by Mexico defender Rafa Marquez 12 minutes from time.