Mexico led 1-0 following a dominant first-half performance at Estadio Azteca.

South Africa's hopes of turning the game around in the second half took a hit in the 49th minute when Yaya Sithole was sent off after Mexico attacker Brian Gutierrez managed to get his body in front of him and the pair tangled as he ran through on goal.

Referee Wilton Sampaio deemed that Sithole had brought Gutierrez down and denied him a goalscoring opportunity.

The red card meant South Africa had 41 minutes to salvage a result with 10 men.

• Was the referee right to send Sithole off? Thumbs up for yes, thumbs down for no.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Again, if you missed this in real time, click on the play icon below to watch the three red cards from Mexico's 2-0 win over South Africa.

Then we will be asking you for a show of thumbs on each dismissal - thumbs up if you think it was a red card, thumbs down if you don't...

Image source, Getty Images

Before we return to the red card debate, here's a few key lines from across the World Cup that you might have missed overnight:

• Jude Bellingham has said that the squad didn't feel "connected" at the Euros - and emphasised the importance of the players "feeling loved" at this World Cup
• Canadian football journalist Har Johal has described the co-hosts' side, who are preparing to face Bosnia Herzegovina in their opening game tonight, as "the best Canadian team we have ever had"
• Our BBC Sport journalists over in the States report back on the city consumed by the NBA Finals and locals who have been priced out of going to the games
• Bosnia and Herzegovina's Edin Dzeko, 40, has said that the tournament will change the lives of young players whose country has been shaped by "the long shadow of war"

Referee Wilton Pereira Sampaio took centre stage in Mexico's opening win over South Africa at the Azteca Stadium, brandishing three red cards in what was a largely incident-free encounter.

We will give you the chance to have your say on each red card shortly, with a quick show of thumbs.

But please do also get in touch with your thoughts on the dismissals.

Just click on the 'Get Involved' button to have your say...

Image source, Getty Images

If you missed the opening games of this World Cup, never fear, check out the highlights below, then join us as we go through the key talking points...

A dominant South Korea side came from behind to beat Czech Republic 2-1 in Guadalajara last night.

Czech captain Ladislav Krejci headed in an opener against the run of play but South Korea struck back through Hwang In-beom eight minutes later.

West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek looked to have put Czech Republic in front again, but the goal was chalked off for offside.

Shortly after Oh Hyeon-gyu scored an 80th-minute winner to give South Korea a victory in their opening game for the first time in four finals appearances.

Image source, Getty Images

If you're only joining us now, let's quickly recap what happened on the other side of the Atlantic last night as the 2026 World Cup got off to an exciting start.

Hosts Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in a dramatic game including two red cards.

Julian Quinones scored the first goal of the tournament before Yaya Sithole was shown red for denying a goalscoring opportunity.

Wolves striker Raul Jimenez headed in a second for Mexico then South Africa went down to nine as Themba Zwane struck Roberto Alvarado in the face during a tussle for the ball.

In stoppage time, Mexico's Cesar Montes was also sent off.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The World Cup has a habit of drawing out the big name fans and it doesn't come much bigger in Mexico than three-weight undisputed boxing world champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.

Alvarez, who has held world titles across four weight classes, even managed to get his hands on the Player of the Match trophy when he posed with goalscorer Julian Quinones.

There were even chants of "Canelo, Canelo, Canelo" at the Azteca Stadium when he was spotted by fellow supporters.

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

In 2017, Pierluigi Collina was appointed as Fifa's new head of referees and it heralded a very different era.

Collina often takes about how decisions should serve as justice - for both teams - and players should stay on the field unless they have done something which truly deserves a red card.

For instance, under his stewardship the law around denying a goalscoring opportunity (Dogso) when a penalty has been awarded have been hugely relaxed. It is now very difficult to get a red card.

So it should be no surprise that the 2018 and 2022 World Cups saw just the four red cards after he took over.

Refereeing at the start of a tournament often seem to sets the tone. Should we be drawing any conclusions from this match?

In his pre-tournament briefing, the Italian was focused on timewasting and general player behaviour.

There was no talk of a hard stands which should result in a huge spike in red cards.

Sometimes red cards are simply justified. Well, most of them anyway.

John Murray
BBC football correspondent on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast

The first red card was debatable, a bit of a tangle of legs, the second one I think that’s a bit of a World Cup sending off, the sort of cuff on the back of the head, again is there enough in that? I’m not so sure. Certainly the third one I was staggered that the red card came out for Cesar Montes.

I seem to remember seeing this happen at tournaments before, in that you get the iron fist at the start and then they have a little bit of a think about it and things settle down. South Africa, I thought, were quite heavy handed, there were some not great tackles, but it wasn’t a dirty match.

This is the seventh time there have been three or more red cards in a World Cup game and the first time in an opener.

Dean Furman
Former South Africa midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live

On South Africa's second red card

It's going to be an interesting World Cup if that's what we're giving red cards for but that is the game today, you can't do that.

To lose someone like Themba Zwane - he's the experienced member of the team, the one who's going to come on if a game's tight and add a little bit of quality but South Africa were just miles off it.

There's really not one player on that pitch in a yellow shirt who can hold their hands up and say they did themselves justice unfortunately.

What did you make of the red cards?

Were they all warranted? Did you think some of them were harsh? Is it a sign of things to come at this World Cup?

Send your thoughts over to us using the 'Get involved' tab at the top of this page.

Image source, Getty Images

Right, let's dig a little deeper into the three red cards.

South Africa's Yaya Sithole and Themba Zwane were, and then Mexico's Cesar Montes were all sent off during the opening game.

When you consider that the World Cups in Russia and Qatar both saw just four red cards in the whole tournaments - it's pretty remarkable.

It had been 20 years since three players were sent off in one match, in the 2006 finals when 28 players saw red.

That was a remarkable tournament which saw three players dismissed in three separate games, and the all-time record of four reds in Portugal v Netherlands.

Are we about to go back to those days? Will the 2026 World Cup be remembered for red cards being handed out like confetti?

Read more here.

Hmmmm.

Not to worry you at this early stage of the morning but that's a 1-0 lead to AI in it's battle with Chris Sutton after the opening two games.

For the sake of human-kind, let's hope Sutton can turn things around over the next few weeks.

As is the case during the Premier League season, Chris Sutton is on predictions duty throughout the World Cup.

The former Blackburn, Celtic and Norwich striker is going up against AI - so let's see how he fared in the opening two games.

Mexico 2-0 South Africa:

Sutton's prediction: 1-0

AI's prediction: 2-0

South Korea 2-1 Czech Republic:

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

AI's prediction: 1-1