World Cup kicks off with co-hosts Mexico taking early advantage

MEXICO CITY: The World Cup kicked off on Thursday as co-hosts Mexico took an early lead against South Africa in front of 80,000 fans in the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

Julian Quinones scored in the ninth minute of the opening game, confirming Mexico’s early dominance in a stadium that hosted the 1970 and 1986 finals.

The kickoff launched a sprawling tournament of 48 teams that will last nearly six weeks.

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 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, 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 launched a spirited defense 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 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.

Fifa has since confirmed Artan, who the US State Department said had “associated with suspected members of terrorist organizations”, 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 organization.

“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 organize a World Cup in the US,” Infantino said of Trump.

Trump confirmed on Wednesday 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.