The 2026 FIFA World Cup officially got underway on Thursday and gave home fans everything to get excited about.
Mexico kicked off the biggest World Cup ever, with 48 teams, securing a 2-0 victory over South Africa in front of a delirious Estadio Azteca crowd.
Julian Quinones scored the tournament’s first goal, finding the back of the net in the ninth minute. El Tri held a 1-0 lead for most of the game before Mexican striker Raul Jimenez headed home another goal in the 67th minute to make it 2-0.
Three red cards were dished out, but Mexico held firm in a chaotic opening match.
And yet, while the goals and the drama grabbed the headlines, it was a 17-year-old kid from Chiapas who made history.
In the 65th minute, Gilberto Mora came on as a substitute for Alvaro Fidaldo and became the youngest player in Mexico’s history to appear in a FIFA World Cup match.
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At just 17 years old and 240 days old, Mora shattered a record set by Manuel “Chaquetas” Rosas back in 1930, nearly a full century ago.
And he didn’t just break Mexico’s record, either.
Mora also became the youngest player ever to represent a host nation on the World Cup stage.
Born on Oct. 14, 2008, in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mora plays for Club Tijuana in Liga MX, and he’s already become a household name in Mexico.
At 15, he became the youngest-ever goalscorer in Liga MX history. By 16, he’d debuted for Mexico’s senior national team and topped Lamine Yamal and Pelé as the youngest player to win a senior international trophy, thanks to Mexico’s 2025 Gold Cup win.
Just two days before this match, Club Tijuana locked him down with a new three-year contract and handed him the No. 10 jersey, sending a strong message to Europe’s elite that have been circling for months.
Real Madrid, PSG, Chelsea, AC Milan, Barcelona, and Manchester City have all reportedly been linked to the rising star.
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He was only on the field for a little over 30 minutes in Mexico’s World Cup opener, but fans were chanting ‘Mora! Mora! Mora!’ the second he stepped onto the pitch.
Expect to hear a lot more of that in the coming weeks.
Pelé was 17 when he helped Brazil win the 1958 World Cup. Mbappé was 19 when France lifted the trophy in 2018. The comparisons are enormous, probably unfair, but there’s a reason everybody in the soccer world already knows his name.