Mexico cruise past Ghana 2-0 in lively World Cup warm-up in Puebla

Puebla: Mexico beat Ghana 2-0 in Puebla on Friday night 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 created a lively atmosphere throughout the night. 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 at Cuauhtemoc Stadium.

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.” Agencies

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