Triumph at the Azteca offers respite from strife on Mexico City’s streets | Pablo Iglesias Maurer

One of football’s great arenas roared as El Tri eased past South Africa, offering fans a fleeting escape from the tensions gripping the capital

The walk to Estadio Ciudad de México – most fans know it as the Azteca – on Thursday did a pretty good job of laying out the two sides of Mexico as the World Cup kicked off.

Flanked by volunteers and channeled towards the stadium by steel barriers, the lucky few to have scored a ticket to the tournament’s opener between Mexico and South Africa chanted, waved the country’s tricolor flag and cracked beers in the middle of the street. The path was flanked with performers, the sound of traditional banda music providing a festive atmosphere.

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