South Africa's TV studio falls silent after defeat to Mexico: the surreal scene.

South Africa is in mourning. The African national team lost its opening match of the 2026 World Cup, falling 2-0 to Mexico on the first day of Group A, which also included South Korea and the Czech Republic. The defeat was met with considerable disappointment and discontent in South Africa, so much so that a live broadcast on a national broadcaster went viral. 

South African television channel SportyTV provided a surreal scene. Upon returning to the studio after the final whistle, all the guests, including former footballers Quinton Fortune and Benni McCarthy, remained silent, creating a clearly awkward atmosphere that the host tried to break: "So..." he began, almost bursting into laughter at the discomfort, "what can we say about this match? What went wrong?" 

The studio's response? Absolutely none. The guests remained silent again, and the scene continued for another interminable few seconds before the discussion about the match began. 

(Adnkronos)