Mexico beat Ghana as World Cup cohosts excel despite FIFA sanctions

Parts of the Puebla stadium for high-profile warm-up for 2026 edition were closed to spectators due to 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.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Five key talking points for the Premier League season finalelist 2 of 4From Palestine to Catalonia, Guardiola believed in more than just footballlist 3 of 4Man Utd appoint Michael Carrick as permanent managerlist 4 of 4Ronaldo scores twice to seal Saudi Pro League at last with Al-Nassrend of listRepeated 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.