Mexico beat Ghana as World Cup cohosts excel despite FIFA sanctions

Mexico have beaten Ghana 2-0 ⁠in Puebla in a World Cup warm-up that offered a glimpse of the excitement building less than three weeks before the country opens ⁠the tournament.

While Puebla is not among Mexico’s World Cup host cities, fans in green shirts at Cuauhtemoc Stadium created an electric atmosphere throughout the night on Friday.

Repeated Mexican waves rolled ⁠around the stadium despite visible empty sections closed under FIFA sanctions linked to discriminatory chants at previous national team matches.

Brian Gutierrez set the tone immediately, curling home from the edge of the box after two minutes.

Teenage Liga MX ‌sensation Gil Mora struck the post in the first half, and Alexis Vega had a header ruled out for offside before the break.

“He’s a different player, we’ve always said that,” Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said of Mora, who made his first appearance for Mexico since November after returning from injury.

“He’s brave, direct, vertical … he gives us great joy because he’s Mexican and ⁠because he’s back without pain.”

The teams were met by a lively atmosphere at Estadio Cuauhtemoc [Henry Romero/Reuters]

Ghana, with recently appointed coach ⁠Carlos Queiroz absent and assistants leading from the bench, threatened an equaliser early in the second half after forcing a pair of saves from the Mexican goalkeeper and hitting the crossbar.

But substitute ⁠Guillermo Martinez ended the visitors’ hopes in the 54th minute, finishing off a counterattack to double Mexico’s lead.

Coach Aguirre ⁠used the friendly to continue evaluating players ahead ⁠of naming Mexico’s final World Cup squad on June 1, with Europe-based players Luis Chavez, Edson Alvarez and Jorge Sanchez making second-half appearances after recently joining training camp.

The coach praised the effort shown by ‌players battling for places in the final squad, saying: “The fact they tried and gave their best effort, for me, that’s already worthwhile.

“It’s not easy (to pick the ‌team), ‌it’s the most complex part of my job … It’s a bit about trying to see all the possible scenarios with my coaching staff.”