Sports
The Timberwolves are still behind the Spurs and Thunder, so what can they do to catch up?
Always the bridesmaids, eh Minnesota? For the third straight season, the Timberwolves have outperformed playoff expectations. Their 2024 upset over the Denver Nuggets is one of the more memorable playoff series in recent memory. They reached the Western Conference Finals as a No. 6 seed a year ago, and they once again slayed Nikola Jokić in the first round this season before falling to Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in six games in the second round. There is clearly something in the DNA of this team that translates to the postseason. As a group, they are playoff risers.
As a collection of individuals, they have lately seemed outgunned. Minnesota’s only legitimate shot at a championship came in 2024. They had home-court advantage in the Western Conference Finals. They’d played two overtime games against the eventual champion Celtics in the regular season and went 3-1 against Dallas in the regular season. But Karl-Anthony Towns had the most disastrously timed slump of his career. He shot 15 of 54 in Games 1, 2 and 3 against the Mavericks. That gave Luka Dončić enough room to squeak out three single-digit victories. Minnesota couldn’t recover. The Mavericks reached the 2024 NBA Finals.
Months later, Towns was gone. Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick took his place in a move that was seemingly financially motivated. Minnesota was afraid of paying Towns supermax money with Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert making the max as well and a new Jaden McDaniels deal looming. The ups and downs of Towns’ journey with the Knicks have been well-chronicled. At various points, Minnesota has been widely declared the trade’s winner.
Yet they’ve had an undeniably Towns-shaped hole in their roster in their past two playoff defeats. The Timberwolves and Thunder played only two games in last year’s Western Conference Finals decided by less than 25 points in Oklahoma City’s favor. Randle scored 11 combined points in those two competitive games. Through the first five games of Minnesota’s loss to San Antonio this year, Edwards was the only Timberwolf to average more than 15.2 points per game. Randle, brought in to replace Towns, was at 14.8.
Beating Oklahoma City last year and San Antonio this year wasn’t really a reasonable expectation for the Timberwolves in either series, and you can’t boil down those defeats to any single factor more complex than “those teams were way more talented.” But if you were to point to the single thing Minnesota most lacked, it would probably be a second, genuine offensive star. Without one, those stout opposing defenses could key in further on Edwards. He averaged just 23 points in the Oklahoma City series and resolved to work on his mid-range and post games to give himself more ways to score tough, contested points. He improved significantly on those fronts this season, but played hurt against the Spurs. He surely would’ve been better healthy. He also probably would have benefitted from the presence of another All-Star level scorer.
Missing KAT?
The scorer the Wolves gave up is currently lighting the Eastern Conference on fire. The Knicks have won their last seven games by 185 combined points. Through 10 games, Towns has a playoff Box Plus-Minus of 14.4. Forget about leading this year’s postseason. According to Mat Issa, only three other players have ever done that across a postseason that included at least 10 games: 2009 LeBron James, 1991 Michael Jordan and 2017 Kawhi Leonard. Pretty good company!
The Wolves, again, chose depth. Circumstance has slowly chipped away at that depth. Nickeil Alexander-Walker walked after last season as the Timberwolves elected to duck the second apron. He immediately became the NBA’s Most Improved Player. Mike Conley will be 39 at the start of next season. He overperformed in this postseason, but he’s no longer a starting-caliber player. DiVincenzo tour his Achilles tendon against Denver. He’ll miss all or most of next season.
The Timberwolves have done an admirable job of recovering. Ayo Dosunmu proved a critical Alexander-Walker replacement. Terrence Shannon Jr., a late first-round pick, gave them good minutes this postseason. But without someone doing the heavy offensive lifting alongside Edwards, it’s just hard to imagine Minnesota ever really competing with the Spurs or Thunder. That’s where Tim Connelly’s two other big swings enter the equation.
The Rudy Gobert (and Rob Dillingham) trades in hindsight
The Rudy Gobert trade, in a vacuum, was good. It turned the Wolves into perpetual bridesmaids after decades of never getting invited to the wedding. It’s also the single biggest reason they may not get to be the bride.
Gobert has lived up to every reasonable expectation Minnesota could have had for him. This has been, bar none, the most successful era in franchise history, and Gobert’s defense is among the drivers of Minnesota’s “playoff riser” track record. He’s vital to their culture. He’s generated star-level value. And the cost of acquiring him was still simply too great.
That has less to do with the actual assets traded — though Walker Kessler becoming a reasonable Gobert facsimile at a tiny fraction of the cost certainly stings — than it does the opportunity cost of the deal. Having Anthony Edwards unlocks potential trade acquisitions that would otherwise be unfathomable to a market like Minnesota. Had the Timberwolves kept their picks, his recruiting power would have opened just about any star acquisition door in basketball. We got reports in February that Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to play with him. That door, at least without the inclusion of rising star Jaden McDaniels, is probably closed with those picks gone.
The Timberwolves made an all-in push when Edwards was 20. That push got him deep into the playoffs far earlier than many of his contemporaries and lifted the franchise to previously unreached heights. But the trade also nudged Towns out the door and seemingly placed a cap on the upside of the roster they’d be putting around Edwards in his mid-20s. He’s 24 right now, probably not even at his peak. Yet his next two highest-paid teammates are 33 (Gobert) and 31 (Randle), likely trending down, and his team has almost no draft capital with which to build around him. Without the tools to go get Edwards a genuine, star-level sidekick, Minnesota appears, at least for the time being, locked behind Oklahoma City and San Antonio in the Western Conference pecking order.
Lead Timberwolves executive Tim Connelly seemingly foresaw these potential issues and took a somewhat drastic step in order to try to avert them. In 2024, he traded his unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a top-1 protected first-round swap in 2030 to snag the No. 8 overall pick. He used it on Rob Dillingham.
The concept was sound. Because of the Gobert trade, Minnesota no longer had the assets to trade for a traditional, veteran star when one would eventually become needed, and because of their salary crunch, they wouldn’t have been able to afford bringing in such a player anyway without slicing through the identity of the roster they’d already built. So they took a big swing on Dillingham, betting that they could develop him into the long-term No. 2 scorer that they would need, and thanks to the four cheap years on his rookie deal, they could do so without his presence interrupting the roster they already had.
That bet went bust. It’s too early to say that Dillingham simply isn’t that caliber of player, but he wasn’t in Minnesota. The Timberwolves didn’t trust him enough for a substantial role. He wound up becoming the bait to get Dosunmu as an Alexander-Walker replacement at this year’s trade deadline.
And that takes us to where the Timberwolves sit today. They are only around $26 million below next year’s projected second apron line, but with only 10 roster spots accounted for. One Dosunmu is re-signed, they’re probably going to come close to that line. Their only tradable future first-round pick this offseason is their 2033 selection. They are therefore mostly bereft of financial flexibility and draft capital to move with right as the second-best player in franchise history (at least) hits his prime. If the goal is merely to remain in the mix, the Timberwolves are fine where they are. If the goal is to improve enough to compete seriously with the Thunder and Spurs and ultimately win a championship, circumstances are getting quietly dire.
What’s next and potential targets
Connelly may take another run at Antetokounmpo. He’s among the most aggressive general managers in basketball, he’s not going to sit still. But the only asset Minnesota has that could seriously move that needle is McDaniels, and he’s the best player they have whose age is aligned with Edwards’. In addition to the depth you’d have to sacrifice in going after Antetokounmpo, you’d be giving up a chance for Edwards and McDaniels to be franchise pillars for the next decade.
Given the offensive steps McDaniels took this season, that would be an awfully bitter pill to swallow. He’s not the No. 2 option they need, but he doesn’t need to be since his value is primarily derived from being one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders. That he’s consistently creating his own shots and making 3s now is more than enough. He’s a star in his role even if he isn’t a star in the broader NBA context. Turn him and a bunch of other stuff into Antetokounmpo, and Minnesota would be left with perhaps the NBA’s best duo, but serious questions virtually everywhere else on the roster.
Is that worthwhile for a 31-year-old with injury issues? It’s debatable, and would depend on how much faith Minnesota has in its ability to successfully fill in the margins around those two. As Antetokounmpo reportedly prefers to stay in the Eastern Conference, though, it may be out of their hands.
Here’s the likelier path. The Timberwolves elect to keep the basic foundation of their roster together: Edwards as the centerpiece, McDaniels and Gobert as the defensive cornerstones, Dosunmu and Naz Reid as their bench core. From there, they consider pooling their few remaining valuable assets — that 2033 first-round pick, the No. 28 pick this year, their rookie contracts like Shannon and Joan Beringer — into a high-risk, high-reward addition that could potentially become that second option. The matching money would ideally start with Randle and potentially include DiVincenzo simply because of his injury.
The obvious name in this regard would be Ja Morant. The fit here is iffy. Shooting was never quite Minnesota’s strength even with DiVincenzo. Morant needs the ball in his hands to provide offensive value, and he’s rarely contributed much of anything defensively. The Timberwolves pride themselves on their defensive culture, and they’re not going to be overly eager to take the ball away from Edwards. Whether it’s Minnesota or somewhere else, Morant is about as all-or-nothing as an acquisition gets. There is a well-below 50% chance he recaptures the enormous rim pressure that made him a star, stays healthy and stays on the straight and narrow. If he does? He’s a superstar again. If he doesn’t, given his lack of role player skills, he’s an overpaid and underqualified supporting piece.
If you’re looking for a better basketball fit, the swing would be Kyrie Irving. We don’t yet know what Masai Ujiri plans to do with him, but he’s indicated that aside from Cooper Flagg, virtually everything in the organization is up for evaluation. Dallas is similarly asset-thin, as it owes out its first-round picks between 2027 and 2030. Irving would be a chance to replenish that base for Flagg’s timeline. He shoots and is at least capable of scaling up defensively in big moments. He’s also 34 and coming off of a torn ACL. If Minnesota tries this and it doesn’t work, it’s a borderline disaster.
Here’s an under-the-radar option: now that San Antonio knows Dylan Harper is bound for future stardom… how eager would the Spurs be to get off of the four-year max contract it owes to De’Aaron Fox? That probably depends on how the rest of their postseason goes. Minnesota was reportedly interested in Fox at last year’s trade deadline. He comes with some of the same theoretical concerns that Morant does, but not to nearly the same extremes. He’s not a good shooter or defender, but he’s functioning just fine on a team that plays great defense and has plenty of other ball-handlers.
This is probably as good as it gets when it comes to win-now star additions that don’t completely alter the fabric of the roster. The Timberwolves just don’t have the firepower to trade for anyone too much more exciting. That’s the alternative path here. If Minnesota determines it has no path to beating Oklahoma City or San Antonio in the next year or two, maybe now is the time to retrench.
That obviously wouldn’t mean blowing up the roster, but there is a deceptively young core here. Edwards, McDaniels, Reid, Dosunmu, Shannon, Beringer, Bones Hyland and Jaylen Clark are all 26 or younger. Perhaps the move here is seek value for the older players — Gobert, Randle, DiVincenzo if someone wants to take a flier on him returning next year or just get his Bird Rights for 2027 free agency — so that in a few years, they’re better-suited to take another real, big swing.
How much value is really out there for those players? Gobert just played the best defensive series anyone ever has on Jokić. Even at 33, he’d likely fetch a decent first-round pick. Randle is harder to peg, but lottery reform probably helps him in this regard. He’s a regular-season floor raiser, someone who takes a lot of shots and needs the ball in his hands a lot. He’s not good enough to do that for a true contender, but now that there’s suddenly value in winning 35 games, more teams might be interested.
Minnesota probably won’t ever regain the asset flexibility it spent on Gobert. That ship has sailed. But if they take a step back for a couple of years, quite a bit could open up for them. Their 2033 pick becomes tradable this offseason, and their 2035 pick unlocks two summers from now. If they’re mediocre in 2028, they can benefit from lottery reform since that’s one of the few remaining picks of their own that they still control. They are two years below the second apron away from unfreezing their 2032 pick. By then, they’ll have accumulated enough tradable draft capital combined with whatever they get for trading the old guys to potentially dive back into the deep end of the star trade pool.
Who knows? Maybe the NBA expands in the next few years and Minnesota gets to move to the Eastern Conference. There’s no shame in taking the back door into the Finals. Towns may do that in New York this June.
Getting Edwards on board with stepping back would likely be a tough sell. He’s extension eligible this offseason, though he likely won’t sign since he’s not yet supermax eligible. He needs to sign off on any plan. He’s both young enough to justify a step back and good enough to justify a step forward.
The Timberwolves will need to decide on one of those paths, because there’s no path to the top of the West for this group. They weren’t competitive with the Thunder last year, and they would’ve lost to the Spurs in five were it not for an outlier Wembanyama ejection this season. Their plucky playoff over-performance just isn’t enough to overcome the substantial talent gap between them and the two best teams in the NBA.
2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off: Simon Jordan discusses US soccer growth
Talksport presenter Simon Jordan discusses the 2026 FIFA World Cup kickoff in Mexico, highlighting its immense global and growing U.S. influence. Jordan notes soccer’s rise to the third most popular sport in America, surpassing baseball and hockey. He is optimistic about the record-breaking tournament, expected to sell 6.5 million tickets, despite past World Cup challenges.
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The first of 104 World Cup matches was won by the country that hosted the start of the tournament.
Mexico took down South Africa, 2-0, in Mexico City after Estadio Azteca played host to the World Cup opening ceremonies.
Mexico was the better team from the jump, scoring in the ninth minute after already having two corner kicks.
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Raul Jimenez celebrates with teammates after scoring Mexico’s second goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A match against South Africa at Mexico City Stadium on June 11, 2026. (Hector Vivas/FIFA via Getty Images)
A pass from South Africa’s goalie got away from a teammate and was picked off by Erik Lira. The ball was then taken by Julián Quiñones, who took just one dribble toward the middle of the field and ripped a right-footed shot into the net, putting the crowd into a frenzy.
Hopes of a South African comeback took a hit when Yaya Sithole was given a red card in the 50th minute for bringing Mexico’s Brian Gutiérrez on what would have been a breakaway.
From then on, South Africa was playing with 10 men, making it an even larger mountain to climb.
Mexico players applaud fans during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A match between Mexico and South Africa at Mexico City Stadium in Mexico City on June 11, 2026. (Angel Delgado/Getty Images)
The dagger came in the 67th minute, when Raúl Jiménez scored a header on a perfect cross from Roberto Alvarado, making it a 2-0 game. Playing in his fourth World Cup, it was Jiménez’s first goal in tournament history, and he could not help but let out his emotions.
South Africa was hit with one more red card in the 84th minute, and Mexico was given one in the 92nd minute. South Africa’s Sithole and Themba Zwane, as well as Mexico’s César Montes, will each miss their next games against Czechia in Atlanta and Korea in Guadalajara, respectively.
In World Cup history, Mexico has now won 15 of the 23 matches in which it has scored first, drawing five and losing three.
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Estadio Azteca, renamed Mexico City Stadium for the tournament, held the tournament’s opening ceremonies, during which all 48 competing countries were represented. FIFA President Gianni Infantino was in the building with the FIFA World Cup Trophy.
Mexico’s forward Julian Quinones celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group A match against South Africa at Mexico City Stadium in Mexico City on June 11, 2026. (Rodrigo Oropeza/AFP via Getty Images)
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Mexico is coming off a disappointing trip to Qatar, as it was the first time since 1978 that it competed in a World Cup and did not make it to the knockout stage. Aside from its ban in 1990 and not qualifying in 1982, it had made it past the group stage in nine straight World Cups it played in.
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Ask Vikings coach Matt Daniels and there’s not much of an issue with Brett Thorson holding. Or, at least, with catching the snap from the long snapper.
The talented rookie punter is the underdog in his competition against veteran Johnny Hekker, who received a single-season deal worth $1.262 million on the cap (OTC). Every penny will stick around as dead money if he gets cut.
Still, Thorson was brought to town for a reason. He boasts a booming punt, capable of offering his team healthy field position. Thorson is operating under a UDFA contract that sees just $90,000 guaranteed. In other words, cutting him won’t be any hindrance to the cap if things don’t work out.
What’s working in his favor, though, is his youth, upside, and capacity to settle in as a holder.
Vikings Coach Matt Daniels Believes Rookie Punter Can Hold
Gone are the days of Tony Romo – and, more accurately, the currently playing QBs – holding the ball for PAT and FG. Rather, the job responsibility has shifted to the punter, the specialist who spends his days working with the other specialists. Giving him the added workload makes all the sense in the world.
Per Daniels, the Kirby Smart approach of not leaning on his punter is derivative of the Bill Parcells approach. Once upon a time, Mike Zimmer was the head coach of the Vikings. Notably, he’s a Parcells disciple. Every so often, Zimmer would make headlines for his comments on kickers. Did he ever oversimplify the kicking/holding operation?
More pertinent for right now: can Thorson overcome his inexperience as a holder to secure the P1 spot in 2026?
Check out what Matt Daniels had to say: “Obviously, coming out of Georgia, Kirby is really from a Parcells tree […] where the quarterbacks are the holders.” Not long afterwards, Coach Daniels noted Thorson’s “great hands” before describing that the focus is on placing the ball down cleanly and at the correct angle for Will Reichard.
Therein lies the key, folks: working in a way that makes Reichard comfortable.
Earlier in the same presser, Coach Daniels described how Reichard keeps “chasing” perfection. Doing so means adjusting his mechanics in an effort to drill the football perfectly straight rather than last year’s approach, one involving a “little baby draw.”
Any punter who can’t allow Reichard to thrive isn’t going to be employed by the Minnesota Vikings.
“I watched over 300 snaps of this guy at practice and there’s no issue with the holding,” Daniels went on to say of Thorson.
Last year, Oscar Chapman competed with Ryan Wright to be the team’s starting punter. In all likelihood, Mr. Wright — somebody who offered an exclusive for VT — would have won the job no matter what, but Chapman appeared to bobble the ball at one point. That didn’t help, folks.
At this stage, Johnny Hekker appears to be a 99.9% certainty to handle the snap from long snapper Andrew DePaola cleanly. He is, like all of us, human, meaning he’ll make mistakes. What he nevertheless offers is a high degree of consistency. At no point will he be nervous about catching a heater from DePaola.
Brett Thorson has a longer runway in the NFL since he’s still a young fella. Quite possibly, he’ll be able to punt the ball for greater distance while offering better hang time, too. But then there’s the other aspect of the job: holding. That small does detail matters.
Put bluntly, the Vikings cannot chase upside at punter at the risk of undermining elite play from Reichard.
Matt Daniels has a few months before needing to make a final call. The punter battle will get rolling in late July when the Vikings return for training camp.
Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.
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1st Time In FIFA World Cup History: 3 Red Cards In Mexico vs South Africa Opener Breaks All-Time Record
Mexico ignited their FIFA World Cup 2026 party with a dominant 2-0 victory over nine-man South Africa on Thursday as the biggest ever edition of the global footballing showpiece kicked off at the iconic Estadio Azteca. Julian Quinones scored the opening goal of the tournament and veteran striker Raul Jimenez added a second as the co-hosts’ bid for qualification from Group A got off to smooth start. The match saw a total of three cards too; South Africa received two, finishing with only nine men after Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were sent off, while Mexico’s Cesar Montes also saw red in stoppage time. For the first time in FIFA World Cup history, three red cards were shown in the opening match of a World Cup.
The Mexican-colored red, green and white smoke from pre-game fireworks had barely dissipated before Quinones fired the hosts into the lead on nine minutes, drilling a low shot through the legs of South Africa’s goalkeeper and captain Ronwen Williams.
A deafening roar cascaded down from the stands of the Azteca, the footballing cathedral that became the only stadium to host games at three different World Cups.
South Africa coach Hugo Broos had warned his players to be ready for the intimidating atmosphere created by a capacity 80,824 crowd at the imposing concrete arena.
But South Africa’s players looked to have a bad case of stage fright as Mexico’s fans greeted each completed pass with a raucous chorus of “Ole!” in the opening minutes.
Sithole seemed particularly affected, being caught in possession trying to play out of the back for Quinones’ opening goal.
Sithole’s miserable afternoon ended with a 49th minute dismissal after bundling over Mexico’s Brian Gutierrez when clean through on goal.
Mexico rammed home their advantage in the 67th minute, with a fine counter attack culminating in Roberto Alvarado crossing for Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Jimenez to nod home at the far post.
It got worse for South Africa in the 84th minute when Zwane was dismissed after a VAR review for flinging an arm into the face of Alvarado.
There was still time for late drama when Mexican defender Cesar Montes was shown a red card for a clumsy challenge on Khulisa Mudau on the edge of the penalty area.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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Phil Mickelson has been accused of “inappropriate contact” with a female golf-club employee, according to a report from Golf Digest.
The publication reported Thursday that Mickelson’s membership from The Farms Golf Club in San Diego was revoked after a female staffer accused him of “nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact” with her earlier this year. According to the report, which cites multiple sources with knowledge of the matter, Mickelson approached and made contact with the employee before he set out for a round of golf. The report says the employee rejected Mickelson’s advances and reported the incident to management.
According to Golf Digest‘s sources, the club immediately reviewed the incident and confronted Mickelson mid-round with the allegations. Mickelson was then asked to leave the property, which he did before the end of his round.
Mickelson, who is currently on leave from pro golf for a personal matter, declined to comment directly to Golf Digest, but a Mickelson spokesperson offered a brief statement about the alleged incident:
“Any misunderstanding has been cleared up. Phil continues to attend to a family health matter and is uncertain when he will be able to return to professional golf.”
Mickelson’s manager did not immediately respond to a text from GOLF.com seeking further comment.
In a statement to Golf Digest, The Farms confirmed that a member had been removed following an incident involving an employee but did not say whether the member was Mickelson. The statement read:
“The Farms Golf Club is committed to maintaining a golf club environment that is safe, respectful and reflects the highest standards of conduct. All members are required to adhere to our Code of Conduct, and any allegations of misconduct are taken seriously. Following a staff member report of member misconduct, the Club provided immediate and ongoing support to the staff member, conducted a thorough independent investigation of the incident and took decisive action. This individual is no longer a member of The Farms Golf Club.”
Mickelson missed the start of the LIV Golf season to tend to his personal issue. He returned for LIV’s South Africa event in March before announcing that he would be out for an extended period of time as he navigates a “family health matter.”
Mickelson, who is 55, sat out both the Masters and the PGA Championship this year. It was only the second time that Mickelson did not tee it up at Augusta National since 1995. Mickelson also missed the 2022 Masters after he made controversial comments about LIV Golf’s Saudi financiers.
Sports
Roy Jones Jr picks a winner in Canelo’s comeback against Mbilli: “He’s better than people think”
Canelo Alvarez will make his ring return in September as he attempts to regain the WBC super-middleweight world title against Christian Mbilli, and boxing icon Roy Jones Jr has explained what he believes will prove to be pivotal in the outcome of the fight.
Alvarez suffered an injury when he lost his undisputed throne to Terence Crawford back in September and was left sidelined when all four titles were reassigned, due to Crawford’s retirement and subsequent relinquishment.
However, following a successful elbow surgery, Alvarez will jump back into an immediate title shot against Mbilli, who was elevated to full WBC world champion after defending the interim belt against Lester Martinez on the Canelo-Crawford undercard.
Whilst Canelo is undeniably a legend of the super-middleweight scene, the 35-year-old has shown signs of fading in recent outings, leaving fans questioning whether he still has what it takes to re-establish himself as the best 168lber on the planet.
Speaking with Boxing News, Jones Jr said that the bout against Mbilli will come down to how much hunger the Mexican has left, declaring that Canelo, at his optimum, will be too much for the best version of the new champion.
“That is a good fight to look at. I like Mbilli, but Canelo is still better than what people give him credit for, so I ain’t going to say that Mbilli is going to beat him.
“I know that Mbilli is a good fighter, but I haven’t seen Mbilli really prove himself [at the elite level] yet. I have seen what Canelo can do, so a hungry Canelo will beat Mbilli, but if he ain’t hungry, then Mbilli is gonna beat him.
“If he is hungry enough, he will win the fight, it all depends on what Canelo’s hunger level is.
Alvarez vs. Mbill takes place on Saturday, September 12, topping a ‘Mexico vs. The World’ bill which takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
South Africa’s campaign at the World Cup 2026 got off to the worst possible start as they were beaten by co-hosts Mexico and ended the match with nine men following two straight red cards.
Both came in the second half with Bafana Bafana already losing 1-0 thanks to Julian Quinones’ goal in the eight minute of the game. Sphephelo ‘Yaya’ Sithole was the first player to be dismissed after catching Brian Gutierrez on the edge of the South African penalty area and denying a goal scoring opportunity.
That decision was a clear one but the second red card, which came in the 84th minute, was more controversial.
As Mexico looked to work their way into the box from the left wing, South Africa’s Themba Zwane got into a grappling contest with Roberto Alvarado. Zwane came round the back of the Mexican and forced his left arm into the face of Alvarado who went to ground clutching his head.
Referee Wilton Sampaio was called over to the pitchside monitor by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and asked to look at replays of the incident.
He saw a slap from Zwane, which became clearer from the referee’s body cam footage later, and decided that the South African deserved a red card for violent conduct.
This was the first time a team had received two red cards in a World Cup match since Portugal and Netherlands both had two players dismissed against each other in the 2006 round of 16.
“I think the decision is extremely harsh,” claimed Ally McCoist on ITV’s coverage of the game with the commentator describing Zwane’s movement as natural from the position he was in.
In the US coverage of the game, former USMNT star Landon Donovan had a similar outlook and said: “That’s a harsh red card, I can’t see that being a red card.”
However, that wasn’t the final moment of controversy as Mexico found themselves reduced to 10-men in the dying stages of the match.
Left-back Cesar Montes cynically stopped a darting run from Khuliso Mudau as he attempted to drive into the penalty area from the right. Montes stuck out a leg and brough Mudau to ground and was amazed as the referee pulled out a third straight red card of the game.
ITV’s American rules analyst and VAR expert, Christina Unkel, explained that there wasn’t clear evidence for VAR to decide that the referee had made a mistake and, as such, Montes was dismissed for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
This was the seventh time there have been three or more red cards in a World Cup game and the first time in an opener.
All three players, Sithole, Zwane and Montes will now miss their nation’s next match but Fifa holds the right to extend the ban or add any other sanctions to the ban if they deem necessary.
That means that Sithole and Zwane will miss the next match against Czechia on June 18 and Montes will be unavailable for Mexico’s game against South Korea on June 19.
Mexico striker Julián Quiñones made history on Thursday by scoring the first goal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the host nation took an early lead against South Africa in the tournament’s opening match.
The 29-year-old forward found the net in the ninth minute at the famous Estadio Azteca after taking advantage of a defensive mistake. He calmly struck the ball from the edge of the penalty area, leaving South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams with no chance.
His goal became the first scored in the newly expanded 48-team World Cup, which is being hosted by Mexico, United States and Canada.
Mexico began the match strongly and controlled much of the early play in front of a passionate home crowd. Veteran striker Raúl Jiménez nearly opened the scoring in the fifth minute, but Williams produced an excellent save to keep South Africa level.
However, the pressure eventually paid off. Four minutes later, Quiñones seized on a costly error by the South African defence and confidently fired home to send the stadium into celebration.
The strike instantly secured Quiñones a place in World Cup history as the first goalscorer of the 2026 tournament.
South Africa tried to fight back and enjoyed spells of possession, but they struggled to break down Mexico’s organised defence.
The game also became more physical as both teams battled for control in midfield. South Africa midfielder Teboho Mokoena received a yellow card in the 17th minute for a late challenge, while Mexico’s Brian Gutiérrez was also booked six minutes later.
For Quiñones, it was a moment he will never forget, as his name became the first to be written into the record books of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Sports
“Dai Dai”: Shakira, Burna Boy The Highlight In Opening Ceremony As FIFA World Cup 2026 Kicks Off
At the hallowed Azteca Stadium, Shakira and Nigerian singer Burna Boy had the spectators out of their seats in the opening ceremony for the 2026 World Cup on Thursday ahead of the opening match between co-hosts Mexico and South Africa. The 48-team tournament is also being hosted by the United States and Canada and will feature 104 games, culminating in the final in New Jersey on July 19. Dancers twirled around a giant model of the World Cup trophy while fireworks went off in the historic 80,000-capacity stadium which hosted the 1970 and 1986 World Cup finals and has been renovated for this year’s tournament.
In the highlight of the ceremony, Colombian star Shakira and Burna Boy performed “Dai Dai”, the official song of the tournament, bringing roars from the crowd.
J Balvin and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli were among the other performers before kickoff as the noise levels ramped up.
“It’s already a party in Mexico,” Ingrid Orozco, a 40-year-old supporter, told AFP. “It’s amazing,” said Gustavo Ramírez, 19.
While there was a festive atmosphere inside the stadium, there were chaotic scenes in the centre of Mexico City where thousands of fans pushed and shoved as they attempted to enter the official World Cup fan zone shortly before the 1800 GMT kickoff.
Access to the fan zone in Zocala plaza was hampered by metal barriers erected in recent days to prevent protesting teachers reaching the area.
“Stop pushing and shoving, there are children here, you’re like animals!” a city official shouted through a megaphone as he tried to control access to the venue where the opening game was to be shown on a giant screen.
Some fans threw water bottles and hurled insults at police as well as chanting in support of the Mexican team.
“It’s crazy,” said Javier Maciel, a 25-year-old fan. “There could have been better organization.”
The local government announced on social media that the site was “full” and suggested fans go to other plazas.
President Claudia Sheinbaum had been expected to watch the game at the fan zone but cast doubt on her presence following days of protests in the area by teachers demanding pay rises.
With AFP inputs
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Mexico vs South Africa LIVE Score, FIFA World Cup 2026 LIVE Updates: 2 Red Cards For South Africa; Mexico’s Raul Jimenez In Tears After Goal | MEX 2-0 RSA
South Africa have never qualified to the knockout stage of a FIFA World Cup. ‘Bafana Bafana’ came very close in both the 2002 and 2010 editions, but narrowly missed out. This time, though, they will fancy their chances. With the World Cup expanded to 48 teams, the knockout stage will now begin with the Round of 32. This means that not just the top two of each group, but also the eight best third-placed teams will qualify.
With Mexico, Czechia and South Korea in Group A, it is certainly not an impossible task for South Africa.
IRVINE, Calif. – “Anything could’ve happened in that moment, to be honest,” U.S. men’s national team midfielder Tyler Adams acknowledged.
Two nights before the team’s all-encompassing, high-stakes World Cup journey on home soil would begin, Adams was glued to a big screen at the team’s hotel near the southern California coastline. He was surrounded by a group of his teammates, each of whom erupted as the New York Knicks completed a 29-game comeback against the San Antonio Spurs and put themselves one game away from winning the NBA Finals for the first time in more than five decades. No one celebrated harder than Adams, though.
“I blacked out within it all,” he recalled the next morning.
Amidst the joyous chaos was a hint of worry – much like the USMNT faithful watching the video, his teammates were hoping one of the team’s most vital players did not get injured during the sequence. He arrived for Thursday’s training, their final one before Friday’s World Cup opener against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium, in one piece and took part in a full training session.
The New York state native has been vocally following the Knicks’ run as early as the USMNT’s World Cup roster reveal event on May 26, the day after they swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. He said, though, he’s been a part of the Knicks’ long-suffering fanbase for some time.
“I have group chats with me and my boys from back home growing up and we’ve always been Knicks fans and we’ve never been this close, so it’s exciting,” he said.
The length of time that Adams has been a Knicks fan, though, is possibly up for debate – his teammate Weston McKennie said at the roster reveal that “behind closed doors, he’s not a Knicks fan,” something Adams called a “wild statement” at the time. Though several members of the U.S. team hail from the New York area or are rooting for the Knicks without geographical ties, Adams said there are a handful of haters in the group – not that he minds.
“Brenden Aaronson. The worst,” Adams said of the Philadelphia Union academy product and local sports fan. “He’s a Sixers fan. He can’t say anything. Haji Wright, big hater right now but I love all that energy. It’s good.”
Adams, though, is hoping the Knicks’ impressive run offers a bit of inspiration for a U.S. team hoping to capture the nation’s attention in the same way.
“It’s pretty captivating,” he said. “I think them kind of being the underdog coming out of the east and doing something special as they’re doing right now, I mean, I take inspiration, but I’m a New York Knicks fan, not everyone’s a New York Knicks fans.”
The USMNT open their World Cup on Friday against Paraguay and will continue group stage play against Australia on June 19 and Turkiye on June 25.
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