Co-hosts Mexico kick off 2026 World Cup with a victory

Mexico’s victory launched a sprawling tournament of 48 teams that will last nearly six weeks.

The extravaganza hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada features 104 games, culminating in the final in New Jersey on July 19.

Julian Quinones scored the opening goal of the tournament after nine minutes and 35-year-old striker Raul Jimenez headed in Mexico’s second goal in front of 80,000 spectators at the historic stadium.

South Africa were overrun and had two players — Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane — sent off.

Before the kickoff, Colombian superstar Shakira and Nigerian singer Burna Boy delighted the crowd with a performance of “Dai Dai”, the official song of the tournament.

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli also performed to round off the opening ceremony.

There was a festive atmosphere inside the stadium, but outside dozens of protesters clashed with police.

Groups of teachers, relatives of Mexicans who have gone missing, and student activists gathered outside the stadium amid a heavy police presence.

Some protesters breached barriers and traded blows with officers guarding the stadium’s perimeter, moments after Mexico scored the tournament’s opening goal.

Delighted fans

Tens of thousands of fans crammed into a fan zone in central Mexico to watch the game, which was also enthusiastically followed by a large crowd of fans from Los Angeles’ Mexican community on giant screens at the Coliseum.

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

The start of the action on the pitch will 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, Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has seen a top referee, Iranian team officials and fans refused entry to the United States.

Speaking in Mexico City on Wednesday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended the organization of the tournament and brushed off criticism over visa issues.

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

“Let me just say that our entry price, which is 60 dollars, 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 dollars 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, suggesting reporters should “chill, relax”.

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.

U.S. authorities said he was refused entry because he was “associated with suspected members of terrorist organizations”.

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 organization.

“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,” he said.

Meanwhile, the World Cup squad from Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been hit by an outbreak of Ebola, was allowed to enter the United States on Thursday.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who plays in England for West Ham, said after coming through immigration at Houston airport after a flight from Paris that the team had faced “no problems” and had left the airport an hour after touching down.

US authorities had insisted the squad serve a 21-day quarantine period before entering US soil.

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