Mexico vs. South Africa: Head-to-head record and past meetings

By Oliver Thomas | 09 Jun 2026 18:00, Last updated: 11 Jun 2026 22:05

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 5

Mexico wins: 3

Draws: 1

Mexico and South Africa have faced each other just five times on the international stage, spanning both competitive and friendly fixtures, and El Tri lead the head-to-head battle with three wins to Bafana Bafana's one.

October 1993 was the first time these two nations butted heads in a friendly fixture held in Los Angeles, where Benjamin Galindo scored a second-half brace for Mexico in a comfortable 4-0 victory.

Almost seven years later, Mexico and South Africa competed at the US Nike Cup, a friendly four-team tournament along with the United States and Republic of Ireland. El Tri recorded a 4-2 win thanks to two goals from Horacio Sanchez, but USA ultimately came out on top in the round-robin format.

In July 2005, South Africa were invited to participate in the CONCACAF Gold Cup - the premier continental tournament for national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean - and they were draw into the same group as Mexico.

Philip Evans and Elrio Van Heerden were both on target as Bafana Bafana secured a surprise 2-1 victory over El Tri. Both nations advanced from their group to the knockout rounds, but they were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

The two nations then locked horns at the 2010 World Cup, held in South Africa. The opening match of the tournament ended in a 1-1 draw in Johannesburg, where Siphiwe Tshabalala's stunning opener for the hosts was cancelled out by Mexico defender Rafa Marquez 12 minutes from time.

Mexico then recorded a 2-0 victory over South Africa when the two nations met in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup.