South Africa's long wait for a first win in a World Cup opening match continues after Bafana Bafana fell to a 2-0 defeat against Mexico, finishing the contest with nine men following two red cards in the second half.

A costly Williams error opens the scoring

Mexico pressed forward from the kick-off and almost broke through in the 3rd minute, when Raúl Jiménez struck a thunderous volley that Ronwen Williams turned away brilliantly. The respite was brief, however.

Five minutes later, Williams played a short pass directly into trouble. Sphephelo Sithole was caught under pressure from the Mexican forwards and surrendered possession just outside the box. Julián Quiñones pounced and drilled a low effort past Williams to put the hosts ahead in the 8th minute.

Bafana Bafana threatened a response from the ensuing corner, launching a counter-attack that ended when Lyle Foster was unable to pick out Iqraam Rayners with the decisive pass.

Mexico double their lead

Williams was called into action again in the 41st minute, keeping out Jiménez one-on-one, before Quiñones rattled the post a minute later as Mexico pressed for a second before the break.

The second half brought fresh anxiety almost immediately. Williams misplaced another pass in the 46th minute, handing Mexico possession in a dangerous position, but Érick Gutiérrez could only fire over the bar.

South Africa's situation grew desperate in the 48th minute when Sithole was shown a straight red card for bringing down Gutiérrez as he bore down on goal. Down to ten men, Bafana Bafana were unable to contain Mexico, and Jiménez headed home from the far post in the 66th minute to make it 2-0.

Late red cards cap a turbulent night

The drama escalated further in the 83rd minute when Themba Zwane was dismissed for slapping Roberto Alvarado, leaving South Africa with nine men. Mexico also ended the match a man light after César Montes received a red card in the 90th minute for a foul on Khuliso Mudau.

Bafana Bafana will look to recover when they meet the Czech Republic on Thursday, 18 June.