Yaya Sithole will want to forget the 14th minute of his World Cup career. Everyone else will remember it forever.
The South Africa midfielder, making his tournament debut at 28, received the ball 30 yards from his own goal, turned, and passed it directly to Luis Chávez. Chávez fed Raúl Jiménez. Jiménez, 35 years old and playing in his fourth World Cup, took one touch and smashed it past the keeper. 1-0 Mexico. Azteca exploded. Sithole sank.
That was just the appetiser.
The VAR was hungry
By the 38th minute, Mexico had a second — a looping header from César Montes off a corner that Sithole (again) failed to track. South Africa were fracturing. In the 42nd minute, midfielder Teboho Mokoena lunged into Edson Álvarez studs-up. The referee, after a brief VAR check, produced a straight red. Mokoena walked. South Africa down to ten men.
You think that's the chaos done? No. Three minutes later, Mexico's Johan Vásquez, already on a yellow, body-checked Percy Tau as the last man. VAR called the referee to the monitor. Yellow upgraded to red. 10 v 10. The Azteca booed the screen, not the decision.
Then, on the stroke of half-time, South Africa's left-back Nyiko Mobbie slid in late on Uriel Antuna. Another VAR check. Another red. South Africa down to nine. The World Cup record for red cards in a single match (3) had been tied. The game hadn't even reached 45 minutes.
The oldest debutant in the room
Jiménez's goal was more than a number on a scoresheet. It was the moment a career that nearly ended — literally, with a fractured skull in 2020 — found its soft landing. The 35-year-old striker had never scored at a World Cup before. He'd missed the 2018 squad entirely and played only 47 minutes in 2022. When the ball hit the net, he dropped to his knees. His teammates mobbed him. The stadium, 87,000 strong, roared his name.
"It's everything," Jiménez said afterwards, voice cracking. "I never stopped believing I'd get here."
The irony? Without Sithole's catastrophic pass, Jiménez might have been substituted off at half-time, anonymous. Football's cruelty is also its gift.
What does this mean?
Mexico have three points and a goal difference that could be decisive in a group that also contains Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. But playing with ten men for 48 minutes is unsustainable. Vásquez's suspension is a problem. Their depth at centre-back is thin.
South Africa, meanwhile, have a mountain so steep they'll need oxygen. Nine men for 45 minutes, a midfield in tatters, and a psychological scar called Yaya Sithole. The coach, Hugo Broos, will have to decide whether to protect his player or drop him. Either way, the damage is done.
This was the World Cup in its purest, most ridiculous form: three red cards, two VAR interventions, a 35-year-old crying, and a player who will never forget the 14th minute. The tournament has issues — corruption, human rights, scheduling. But when the whistle blows, none of it matters. The show is broken, beautiful, and utterly unforgettable.
Now try telling Yaya Sithole that.