Hosts Mexico beat nine-man South Africa to kick off World Cup

MEXICO CITY - Mexico ignited their World Cup party with a dominant 2-0 victory over nine-man South Africa on June 11 as the biggest ever edition of the global footballing showpiece kicked off at the iconic Estadio Azteca.

Julian Quinones scored the opening goal of the tournament and veteran striker Raul Jimenez added a second as the co-hosts’ bid for qualification from Group A got off to smooth start.

South Africa meanwhile never looked like spoiling the opening day fiesta, and finished with only nine men after Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were sent off.

The Mexican-coloured red, green and white smoke from pre-game fireworks had barely dissipated before Quinones fired the hosts into the lead on nine minutes, drilling a low shot through the legs of South Africa’s goalkeeper and captain Ronwen Williams.

A deafening roar cascaded down from the stands of the Azteca, the footballing cathedral that became the only stadium to host games at three different World Cups.

South Africa coach Hugo Broos had warned his players to be ready for the intimidating atmosphere created by a capacity 80,824 crowd at the imposing concrete arena.

But South Africa’s players looked to have a bad case of stage fright as Mexico’s fans greeted each completed pass with a raucous chorus of “Ole!” in the opening minutes.

Sithole seemed particularly affected, being caught in possession trying to play out of the back for Quinones’ opening goal.

Sithole’s miserable afternoon ended with a 49th minute dismissal after bundling over Mexico’s Brian Gutierrez when clean through on goal.

Mexico rammed home their advantage in the 67th minute, with a fine counter-attack culminating in Roberto Alvarado crossing for Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Jimenez to nod home at the far post.

It got worse for South Africa in the 84th minute when Zwane was dismissed after a VAR review for flinging an arm into the face of Alvarado.

There was still time for late drama when Mexican defender Cesar Montes was shown a red card for a clumsy challenge on Khulisa Mudau on the edge of the penalty area.

The extravaganza hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada is the biggest World Cup in history, stretching until the final in New Jersey on July 19 and is projected to generate a record-breaking US$13 billion (S$16.7 billion) in total revenue.

The official opening ceremony lit up the Estadio Azteca stadium before kickoff with Colombian superstar Shakira and Nigerian singer Burna Boy delighting the crowd with a performance of Dai Dai, the official song of the tournament.

But there were scuffles outside the stadium as fans pushed and shoved as they tried to get into the official fan zone in the centre of Mexico City.

The start of the action on the pitch will likely come as a welcome relief to football’s world governing body FIFA, which has faced stinging criticism over the eye-watering costs of tickets.

In addition, United States President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has seen a top referee, Iranian team officials and fans refused entry to the US.

Speaking in Mexico City on June 10, FIFA president Gianni Infantino launched a spirited defence of the organisation of the tournament and brushed off criticism over visa issues.

Infantino insisted that tickets – which in some cases have topped US$30,000 – had been priced appropriately, citing a small number of US$60 tickets that were made available in response to criticism.

“Let me just say that our entry price, which is $60, is the lowest entry price of any of the American sports in the play-off phases,” Infantino said.

“Our average price which is below $500 is again the lowest of the American sports on average.”

Infantino also played down the controversy surrounding Somali World Cup referee Omar Artan, who was refused entry after arriving in Miami.

FIFA has since confirmed Artan, who the US State Department said had “associated with suspected members of terrorist organisations”, will play no part in the tournament.

“It is unfortunate what happened to the referee from Somalia,” Infantino said.

“We don’t control everything... Sometimes it’s good to chill, relax, we work on everything, we try to solve everything.”

On Thursday, European football’s governing body UEFA announced that Artan had been selected to referee its European Super Cup, between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa in August.

“Football is made to connect people, and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills, which had earned him such a prestigious nomination,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.

Infantino also portrayed Iran’s participation at the World Cup in the midst of its military conflict with the US as a victory for his organisation.

“People were saying Iran couldn’t come to the World Cup,” Infantino said.

“There are challenges, it’s not easy, but I don’t know who else would have been able to ensure in these circumstances – which we could not influence – Iran could come and play.”

Infantino’s close relationship with Trump has come under scrutiny but the FIFA chief lavished praise on the US president.

“Without his engagement and involvement, I think it would have been, simple as that, impossible to organise a World Cup in the United States,” Infantino said of Trump.

Trump confirmed on June 10 he plans to attend some World Cup matches, without providing details.

South Korea and the Czech Republic play the second game on the opening day, in Guadalajara.

Spain, France and England are the favourites, while reigning champions Argentina will look to their 38-year-old talisman Lionel Messi to drive them to the final. AFP