Mexico, Portugal Draw 0-0 As Azteca Stadium Reopens After FIFA World Cup Renovations

Mexico and Portugal played to a scoreless draw on Saturday night in a warm-up match that marked the reopening of the Azteca Stadium after nearly two years of renovations for the 2026 World Cup .

Goncalo Ramos had the best scoring chance in the match when he rattled the goalpost in the 26th minute.

The iconic Azteca stadium , which hosted the finals of the 1970 and 1986 World Cup tournaments, has been closed since May 2024 for renovations for the upcoming World Cup, where it will host five matches: three first-round matches and two for the knockout stages.

On Saturday, the Mexicans were without 12 players through injury, including six starters that helped the team win the CONCACAF Nations League and the Gold Cup last year. The Portuguese also faced the match with absences, most notably those of forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafael Leão.

Mexico opens its tournament on June 11 in Mexico City against South Africa in the opening match of the tournament. The Mexicans will play against Belgium next Tuesday at Soldier Field in Chicago, while Portugal face the United States at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Portugal will make its debut in the World Cup on June 17 against the winner of the intercontinental playoffs match between Jamaica and Congo.

Protest Before The Match

Before the match, groups of mothers searching for missing family members staged protests outside the stadium, bypassing city government controls that restricted access to ticket holders only.

Mexico’s government said in a new report Friday that it had identified signs of life for a third of the country’s 130,000 registered missing people, an announcement that was quickly criticized by a number of search groups who called it another attempt to undermine the depth of Mexico’s disappearance crisis .

Fan Dies In A Fall

Security authorities said a fan in the VIP box area of the reopened stadium fell from the second level and died shortly before the match commenced.

“An intoxicated fan attempted to climb from the second to the first level by jumping over the outside, causing him to fall to the ground floor,” local police said. “He was attended to by medical personnel, but unfortunately, he lost his life”.