Mexico midfielder Erik Lira has said “the sky is the limit” for the hosts after they overcame the emotion of opening the World Cup with a 2-0 victory over South Africa at the Azteca Stadium on Thursday.

Mexico secured the win thanks to goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez, despite finishing the match with 10 men after captain Cesar Montes was sent off. However, they were rarely under serious pressure throughout the game.

The result marked Mexico’s first opening-match victory in the tournament after seven previous attempts had ended in failure.

“This was an emotionally difficult match because we don’t experience something like this many times in life,” said Lira, who also provided an assist.

“It was a complicated moment, but we all worked on the mental side so it wouldn’t affect us and so we could do our job as well as possible.”

The match, which saw three players sent off, set a record for the most red cards in an opening game at a World Cup.

“It was important to get the three points and luckily we managed to do that,” Lira said.

“Now we have to make sure everyone is at 100% so we can prepare for the second match and go for another three points.

“The sky is the limit. We’re not going to settle for anything.”