*A previous version of this story claimed 500,000 Salvadorans welcomed Mexico at their hotel. After further review, the original article states around 1,500 were in attendance. Use online translation services with extreme caution.
You probably thought the US would have it bad in Guatemala City, what with the normal torments experienced by American sides venturing down to Central America.
But that appears to be strictly child's play when compared to the reception Mexico is getting in El Salvador. According to MedioTiempo.com, somewhere around 1,500 Salvadorans* gathered at El Tri's hotel on Monday night in San Salvador to make sure the team that arrives at Estadio Cuscatlán on Tuesday is running on as little sleep as possible. Google Translate tells me that the crowd banged drums, sang songs inapproriate for this space and set off rockets throughout the night, while also killing time by "jiggling" the cars that had the unfortune to turn up the wrong street.
You know, a normal Monday night with Mexico in town.
Now, I'm not entirely sure I buy the claim that the gathering drew 500,000 people
–
essentially a fifth of the city's metro population
–
but
The video and photos paint a pretty clear picture.
The Salvadoran fans mean business, and Mexico haven't even walked out of the tunnel yet.
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