Rocks and flares thrown at riot police as violent clashes erupt outside World Cup stadium

Protesters clashed with riot police in violent scenes outside the opening match of the World Cup.

The incident occurred by the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City as co-hosts Mexico beat South Africa on Thursday.

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Numerous protests have taken place in Mexico City in the build-up to the tournament.

Thousands of disappearance cases in the country have prompted campaigners to take to the streets.

Violent scenes

Clashes erupted after protesters arrived at the 87,523-capacity stadium ten minutes before kick-off.

According to local reports, they had attempted to breach the stadium by entering the inner ring before being pushed back by police.

Riot police were subsequently deployed in a bid to handle the unrest, with tear gas used on the protesters.

It came after the protesters had thrown flares and rocks at the police.

A lorry parked near to the stadium was also smashed during the unrest.

It’s understood approximately 2,000 people were involved in the protests according to claims on social media.

Meanwhile, up to 300 riot police are said to have been deployed in response.

The violent clashes were a stark contrast to the jubilant scenes inside the stadium during both the opening ceremony and the match.

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Mexico beat South Africa

Mexico cruised to a 2-0 victory over South Africa in a game which featured three red cards.

Goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez either side of half-time fired Javier Aguirre’s side to victory.

South Africa were reduced to nine men after both Yaya Sithole and Themba Zwane saw red.

Cesar Montes was later dismissed in stoppage time for Mexico and will miss their match against South Korea next Friday.

The opening match was the first of five fixtures to be played at the Estadio Azteca during the tournament.

Those include ties in the round of 32 and the round of 32 as well as another two group stage fixtures.

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The ground previously hosted both the 1970 and 1986 World Cup finals.

Meanwhile, it is the only stadium to have held matches at three separate editions of the tournament.