Match report: More red cards than goals as Mexico wins World Cup opener
Mexico got the World Cup party started as the co-hosts swept away South Africa 2-0 on Thursday in an encounter with three red cards as the quadrennial football extravaganza got under way at the Azteca stadium.
Julian Quinones’ early strike set the tone for a dominant Mexican display in the Group A encounter, with Raul Jimenez’s header midway through the second half removing any lingering tension for the home crowd.
Yet the match will be remembered as much for the three dismissals, with South Africa’s Sphephelo Sithole sent off early in the second half and teammate Themba Zwane following him off the pitch before Mexico’s Cesar Montes was dismissed in the dying moments.
The ill-tempered encounter spoiled an otherwise party atmosphere, yet the home crowd got to celebrate an opening victory that will set them up nicely to make it out of a group that also includes South Korea and the Czech Republic.
The game was barely minutes old when Jimenez stung the fingertips of South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams with a volley from 12 yards, but the tournament’s opening goal was not long in coming.
Sithole was robbed on the edge of his own box by Erik Lira, preferred in the heart of midfield to captain Edson Alvarez, and he quickly fed Quinones, who danced inside before drilling a low finish beneath Williams.
It took 35 minutes for South Africa to even vaguely threaten the Mexico goal when Lyle Foster glanced a header wide, yet as the first half drew to a close Hugo Broos’ side were clinging on for dear life.
First Jimenez wafted a foot at an in-swinging cross to draw a fine save from Williams before Quinones struck the post from close range with the goal at his mercy and Brian Gutierrez pushed an effort wide when he should have done better.
The second half began in a similar vein, and it was Gutierrez who drew the first red card when his marauding run towards the box was stopped in its tracks by Sithole, whose clumsy tackle from behind earned him his marching orders to complete a miserable afternoon’s work for the midfielder.
The crowd had begun to get a little restless at Mexico’s failure to turn their numerical advantage into another goal, but that frustration was relieved when Jimenez bagged his first World Cup goal, with a powerful downward header past Williams from a devilish cross by Roberto Alvarado.
The game’s finale was dominated by the dismissals, with Zwane sent off after a VAR check for a supposed arm to the face, while Montes was sent off for Mexico for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
Reuters
A few more pics showing the heavy police presence in Mexico City
Violent clashes between protesters and police outside opening game
Armed police charged rioters after rocks and petrol bombs were thrown outside the World Cup’s opening match in Mexico City. In chaotic scenes at the gates of the Azteca Stadium, police clashed with hooded protesters shortly after kick-off.
Bins, bananas and plant pots were also hurled at mounted officers, with flames erupting close to the police horses. After one ugly clash, a policewoman with a bleeding gash to her head appeared seriously wounded. Security guards blasted fire extinguishers at some protesters.
The main clash was prompted by rioters attempting to enter Gate Eight of the stadium. One video shows fencing and bins being thrown as riot police charge with shields to push people back.
Dozens of arrests are understood to have been made, after about 1000 protesters clashed with officers in various areas. However, before Mexico’s match against South Africa had finished, the Secretariat of Citizen Security said the situation outside had calmed.
The Scots have arrived in Boston
Locals awoke to the sweet drone of bagpipes this morning, officially signalling the start of the build-up towards Scotland’s opening game against Haiti at Gillette Stadium on Sunday AEST.
About 30,000 fans are expected in Boston for the fixture, and city streets and bars are gradually filling with kilts and football shirts. The sporting culture clash is real, but resident Mike Morrison – who filmed this patriotic group – said he loves the novelty of the unexpected visitors to his neighbourhood.
According to the BBC, there have been some concerns about where Scotland fans will go in Boston, with the main fan zone oversubscribed and a huge influx of travelling fans who don’t have match tickets. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said that her office was working on opening a “consumption area” for supporters.
The fans seem happy enough, for now. “It’s almost as good as at home,” Jim Brown, of Edinburgh, told the BBC. “The beer has actually got a head on it here.”
Fox cuts to commercials for World Cup water break, upping ad slots
Fox Corp’s Fox channel is cutting to commercials during the hydration breaks added to the FIFA World Cup for this first time, potentially creating hundreds of new ad spots.
The network, which has the English-language rights to the tournament in the United States, aired four commercials lasting a total of about two minutes during a hydration break in the tournament’s first match between Mexico and South Africa. Fox declined to comment.
The hydration break came about 25 minutes into the match, with the announcer saying it was sponsored by Powerade. Then, ads for AT&T, Michelob Ultra, Lowe’s and FanDuel played.
Comcast Corp’s Telemundo, which holds the Spanish-language rights to the World Cup in the US, has touted that it will not run ads during the hydration breaks, which some have criticised as being disruptive to gameplay and a potential money-grab for advertising dollars. During its broadcast of the match, Telemundo didn’t cut away from the action and thanked Coca-Cola for enabling it to stay with the game, while showing players getting hydrated and displaying a Coke banner.
If Fox continues to air commercials during the breaks at this rate, that would open up more than 800 additional spots, with about four commercials per half for each of the 104 matches.
Bloomberg
Match report: More red cards than goals as Mexico wins World Cup opener
Mexico got the World Cup party started as the co-hosts swept away South Africa 2-0 on Thursday in an encounter with three red cards as the quadrennial football extravaganza got under way at the Azteca stadium.
Julian Quinones’ early strike set the tone for a dominant Mexican display in the Group A encounter, with Raul Jimenez’s header midway through the second half removing any lingering tension for the home crowd.
Yet the match will be remembered as much for the three dismissals, with South Africa’s Sphephelo Sithole sent off early in the second half and teammate Themba Zwane following him off the pitch before Mexico’s Cesar Montes was dismissed in the dying moments.
The ill-tempered encounter spoiled an otherwise party atmosphere, yet the home crowd got to celebrate an opening victory that will set them up nicely to make it out of a group that also includes South Korea and the Czech Republic.
If you memorise one stat today …
Mexico have released a lot of pressure
Co-hosts always carry around a lot of expectation, which can translate as nerves that don’t discharge until the opening game is done and dusted. The relief will be palpable on that front, especially given they had to play in front of this home crowd at this historic venue. Collectively, they were good without being great and will have to face South Korea next week without their skipper due to Montes’ stoppage-time send-off. But all in all, it can be considered a success.
What that says about South Africa’s outing is something else entirely. It’s one thing to set up to defend, quite another to do so with seemingly zero drive to score. The performance was insipid, and improvement will surely be sought before the next group game against Czechia.
Speaking of which, Czechia play South Korea in today’s other group games, kicking off at midday AEST. I’ll be with you then, and also between now and then for all your opening-day World Cup updates.
Full-time! Mexico 2-0 South Africa
The final four minutes wind down in less eventful fashion than the many before them. What the actual hell just happened out there? There were more red cards than there were goals. Three. Four is the World Cup record – back in 2006 when Portugal and the Netherlands both had two dismissed. But this is the first featuring three straight reds since South Africa (one) against Denmark (two) in 1998.
Is this a sign of how this tournament will be refereed? Is it merely an anomaly?
A third red card!
This time it’s Mexico captain Montes sent down the tunnel for a silly tackle to deny Mudau a goalscoring opportunity. For all of South Africa’s bad dreams, they formulate a convincing attack, flooding forward in numbers. Montes, one of three outnumbered defenders, throws out a leg. He appears genuinely shocked when the red card emerges, and it might be questionable, that one.
Mexico 2-0 South Africa after 90+3 minutes
Seven minutes of added time
It’s seven too many for South Africa, who will hope to wake up and realise this was all just a nightmare.
Mexico 2-0 South Africa after 90 minutes
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
