MOSCOW – Mexico have stunned defending champions Germany in their opening World Cup clash, winning a pulsating clash 1-0 which saw 18 shots (9 of them on target) in a breathless first half alone.
The game was held at the 81,000-seater Luzhniki Stadium in the Russian capital on Sunday afternoon.
Mexico’s Hirving Lozano scored the only goal of the match when he capped off a clinical counter-attack which ripped open Germany’s flat-footed defence in the 35th minute.
How are you feeling, #MEX fans? #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/Qzkh0G5wtZ
— FIFA World Cup ? (@FIFAWorldCup) June 17, 2018
It was Mexico’s first ever competitive win over Germany and avenged their 4-1 defeat to them at last year’s Confederations Cup.
The result means Germany are the third champions in succession – following Italy (2010) and Spain (2014) – to start their defence with a defeat.
Germany will next face Sweden, while Mexico will take on South Korea, with both games taking place on Saturday.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Thursday and will continue until July 15, with the matches set to be played in 11 cities across Russia.
