The victory of the Mexican team over South Africa at the start of the 2026 World Cup left positive feelings within the team led by Javier Aguirre, although the players also recognized that the team is still far from reaching its best version.

After the 2-0 victory at the Azteca Stadium, Erik Lira, Julián Quiñones and Israel Reyes shared their impressions of the World Cup debut, highlighting the importance of starting with three points, but making it clear that the objective goes far beyond a single result.

Erik Lira highlights the ambition of the Mexican team

One of the most outstanding players of the match was Erik Lira, who directly participated in the first goal of the game by assisting Julián Quiñones.

The midfielder assured that the group maintains high expectations within the tournament, although he made it clear that the team is focused solely on the next match.

“We have a very high ceiling and we are not going to settle for anything, there was nervousness, but we started on the right foot in front of our people,” said Lira.

The footballer also asked to remain calm and avoid thinking about later stages of the competition ahead of time.

"We cannot think about the sixth without playing the second. We are going step by step, together as a family, united as a family. Now to prepare well for the game against Korea, in Guadalajara," he stated.

A World Cup debut that Erik Lira will never forget

In addition to his football contribution, the match had a special meaning for the Mexican midfielder, who played his first match in a World Cup.

Lira confessed that the experience of playing in front of thousands of fans in the stadium where he grew up watching football exceeded any expectations.

"It is a great responsibility that eleven Mexicans represent millions of people on the field; we go out to do the best we can," he explained.

"I have lived a moment that I will carry with me for a lifetime; it has been worth everything it cost me to be here; I don't know if a moment like the one I experienced today will ever be repeated," he said in reference to his outstanding performance in his first World Cup.

The player also remembered his roots in the south of the Mexican capital and the emotion he felt when hearing the support of the fans.

"I grew up in this area in the south of Mexico City; so it was nice to see people shouting, let's go Mexico," he concluded.

Julián Quiñones celebrates the victory, but asks to maintain competitive hunger

For his part, Julián Quiñones, scorer of the first goal for the Mexican team in the tournament, valued both the result and the team's response to the pressure of debuting at home.

The forward highlighted the support received by the fans during the days prior to the match and assured that the team seeks to continue growing in the championship.

"We are happy. A few days ago people expressed their support for us and today we have partially repaid that trust, but we want more," declared the forward born 29 years ago in southern Colombia and who obtained Mexican nationality in October 2023.

The Al Qadisiyah attacker, who is going through one of the best moments of his career, also pointed out one of the aspects that he considers essential to improve in the coming games.

"We have to put more pressure on the rival. It is a foundation that we are going to work harder to avoid liberties," he declared at the end of the first Group A match between the South Korean and Czech teams.

Israel Reyes avoids excesses of confidence after victory

Another of the footballers who spoke was Israel Reyes, who highlighted the importance of maintaining concentration despite the favorable result.

The defender considered that no rival in a World Cup can be underestimated and assured that the team is already thinking about the next challenge in the group stage.

"I don't consider that there are easy rivals, I don't consider that there are easy rivals. It's a World Cup, you can't trust yourself, you can't leave anything for granted in games like this, we had an opportunity and if we hadn't scored that one, I think they would have been different and that's why we can't take anything for granted. We took the first step of three, which was that it was now, we have to now focus on what's coming, the next game, and I'll mention to you, there won't be any easy games for us."

The nerves of the debut are left behind

Reyes also acknowledged that the team felt the pressure of the opening match, although he highlighted the group's ability to respond in key moments.

"Very satisfactory, very important that it was for us to start like this, on the right foot. It was about that, I think, the National Team had not won, right? So, it was important for us to do it like this, it was important to show what we are made of as well. Of course there was a lot of nervousness, a lot of emotions that suddenly overwhelmed us, but today I think the team was up to the task, and we did great," he mentioned.

Regarding his debut in a World Cup, the defender confessed that he fulfilled a goal that he had been pursuing for years.

"It was something that I had not experienced in this way here, and boy, I have been touched by some very good emotions. I think that today was something very different, it was the peak of something that I had hoped for in my career, that I had worked for years and and it happened in the best way as I expected it, as I visualized it, so, that is a dream come true for me."

The forcefulness, the pending task of Mexico

Despite the victory, within the squad there is consensus on one of the main aspects to improve: the definition in front of the goal.

The Mexican team generated numerous opportunities against South Africa, but only managed to convert two of them, a situation that the players themselves consider essential to correct to compete against more demanding teams.

"We had many chances under the goal, several posts, we had, wow, I don't know how many we saw, but halfway through the game we had 14, there were too many, we know that we have to achieve because in a World Cup, it's something that you can't forgive, because if you have a rival they score against you. We have to improve that a lot, we want to be a more forceful team and, well, in some way having won also gives us that vote of confidence, it lowered a little the nerves that we had been in these last few weeks and it gives us a lot of excitement to everyone who comes too.”

With the victory assured and confidence reinforced, the Mexican team will now focus all its attention on South Korea, a rival it will face in Guadalajara in search of getting closer to qualifying for the next round of the 2026 World Cup.