While Mexico made a strong start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, beating South Africa 2-0 at the Estadio Azteca on Thursday, the match was marred by poor discipline from both sides.
Three red cards were handed out, with Mexico’s Cesar Montes and South Africa’s Yaya Sithole dealt out, while Themba Zwane was sent off.
This was the first time in tournament history that red cards were shown in the opening match of the World Cup.
The record for most red cards in a World Cup match belongs to the 2006 Round of 16 match between Portugal and the Netherlands, dubbed the ‘Battle of Nuremberg’, in which four players were dismissed.
List of matches with 3 red cards or more
3 reds – Brazil vs. Czechoslovakia, 1938 – Zezé Procópio, Machado; Jan Říha
3 reds – Hungary vs. Brazil, 1954 – József Bozsik; Humberto, Nilton Santos
3 reds – Denmark vs South Africa, 1998 – Miklos Molnar, Morten Wieghorst; Alfred Phiri
3 reds – Australia vs Croatia, 2006 – Brett Emerton; Dario Simic, Josip Simunic
3 red wines – Italy vs. USA, 2006 – Daniele de Rossi; Pablo Mastroeni, Eddie Pope
4 red wines – Portugal x Netherlands, 2006 – Costinha, Deca; Khalid Boulahrouz, Giovanni van Bronckhorst
3 red wines – Mexico vs South Africa, 2026 – Cesar Montes; Yaya Sithole, Themba Zwane
Published on June 12, 2026
