Sawt Falasteen - Co-hosts Mexico kick off World Cup with dramatic victory

Julian Quinones scored the opening goal of the tournament after nine minutes and 35-year-old striker Raul Jimenez headed in Mexico's second goal at the Azteca, which became the first stadium in the world to host games at three World Cups.

Three players were sent off -- two from South Africa and one from Mexico -- in front of a capacity crowd of 80,000 spectators.

South Africa had Sphephelo Sithole dismissed for denying a goalscoring opportunity before Themba Zwane was shown a red card for a slap. Mexico's Cesar Montes was also sent off, for a late foul.

Mexico coach Javier Aguirre revealed his players had overcome a serious case of first-day nerves.

"When you’re starting out the World Cup, of course your legs will shake," Aguirre said. "Never in 25 years had anyone had any cramps but three of them had cramps today.

"We were in awe when we saw the stadium and they got a little bit of stage fright. But we never suffered.”

- Sprawling tournament -

Mexico's victory launched a 48-team tournament also hosted by the United States and Canada that will last nearly six weeks, culminating in the final in New Jersey on July 19.

Before kickoff, Colombian superstar Shakira and Nigerian singer Burna Boy performed "Dai Dai", the official song of the tournament and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli rounded off the opening ceremony.

There was a festive atmosphere inside the stadium, but outside dozens of protesters clashed with police.

Groups of teachers, relatives of Mexicans who have gone missing, and student activists gathered outside the stadium amid a heavy police presence.

Some protesters breached barriers and traded blows with officers guarding the stadium's perimeter moments after Mexico scored their opening goal.

- Delighted fans -

Tens of thousands of fans crammed into a fan zone in central Mexico City to watch the game, which was also enthusiastically followed by a large crowd of fans from Los Angeles' Mexican community on giant screens at the Coliseum.

South Korea and the Czech Republic play the second game of the opening day later in Guadalajara.

The start of the action on the pitch will 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.

On the eve of the tournament, FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended the organization and brushed off criticism over visa issues.

Infantino insisted that tickets -- which in some cases have topped $30,000 -- had been priced appropriately, citing a small number of $60 tickets that were made available in response to criticism.

He added: "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, suggesting reporters should "chill, relax".

US authorities said he was refused entry because he was "associated with suspected members of terrorist organizations".

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.

- Iran squad appear -

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, saying "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," he said.

The Iran team took to the training pitch in front of journalists Thursday at their base camp in Mexico.

Meanwhile, the World Cup squad from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been hit by an outbreak of Ebola, was allowed to enter the United States.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who plays in England for West Ham, said after coming through immigration at Houston airport after a flight from Paris that the team had faced "no problems" and had left the airport an hour after touching down.

US authorities had insisted the squad serve a 21-day quarantine period before entering US soil.

Spain, France and England are the favourites to win the World Cup, while reigning champions Argentina will look to their 38-year-old talisman Lionel Messi to drive them to the final.

F.AbuZaid--SF-PST