Mexico beat Ghana as World Cup cohosts excel despite FIFA sanctions

Parts of the Puebla stadium for high-profile warm-up for 2026 variation were closed to spectators owed to FIFA sanctions.

Mexico person beaten Ghana 2-0 ⁠in Puebla successful a World Cup warm-up that offered a glimpse of the excitement gathering little than 3 weeks earlier the state opens ⁠the tournament.

While Puebla is not among Mexico’s World Cup big cities, fans successful greenish shirts astatine Cuauhtemoc Stadium created an electrical ambiance passim the nighttime connected Friday.

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Repeated Mexican waves rolled ⁠around the stadium contempt disposable bare sections closed nether FIFA sanctions linked to discriminatory chants astatine erstwhile nationalist squad matches.

Brian Gutierrez acceptable the code immediately, curling location from the borderline of the container aft 2 minutes.

Teenage Liga MX ‌sensation Gil Mora struck the station successful the archetypal half, and Alexis Vega had a header ruled retired for offside earlier the break.

“He’s a antithetic player, we’ve ever said that,” Mexico manager Javier Aguirre said of Mora, who made his archetypal quality for Mexico since November aft returning from injury.

“He’s brave, direct, vertical … helium gives america large joyousness due to the fact that he’s Mexican and ⁠because he’s backmost without pain.”

The teams were met by a lively ambiance astatine Estadio Cuauhtemoc [Henry Romero/Reuters]

Ghana, with precocious appointed manager ⁠Carlos Queiroz absent and assistants starring from the bench, threatened an equaliser aboriginal successful the 2nd fractional aft forcing a brace of saves from the Mexican goalkeeper and hitting the crossbar.

But substitute ⁠Guillermo Martinez ended the visitors’ hopes successful the 54th minute, finishing disconnected a counterattack to treble Mexico’s lead.

Coach Aguirre ⁠used the affable to proceed evaluating players up ⁠of naming Mexico’s last World Cup squad connected June 1, with Europe-based players Luis Chavez, Edson Alvarez and Jorge Sanchez making second-half appearances aft precocious joining grooming camp.

The manager praised the effort shown by ‌players battling for places successful the last squad, saying: “The information they tried and gave their champion effort, for me, that’s already worthwhile.

“It’s not casual (to prime the ‌team), ‌it’s the astir analyzable portion of my occupation … It’s a spot astir trying to spot each the imaginable scenarios with my coaching staff.”