WATCH: Arena de Baixada remains unfinished as World Cup actions kicks off inside the stadium.
The headline in local papers reads “The Cup Starts In Curitiba” but hours before Iran and Nigeria were scheduled to kick off in Group F action, the city’s new soccer stadium was still being worked on.
Construction work was still going on Monday morning before the match, which got underway at 3 p.m. ET.
Scaffolding and temporary fencing remained in place around the arena, while dozens of panels for walls had yet to be installed among other unfinished portions of the facility.
The fact that the match is being played at all likely comes as a relief to tournament organizers – FIFA had been considering moving matches scheduled for the southern Brazilian city to other locations as delays mounted in the weeks leading up to the tournament.
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Chronic delays plagued the building of the stadium and other key infrastructure, caused mostly by a lack of financing, according to official reports.
The structure, which sits 42,000, cost Brazilian taxpayers $95 million to build.
In all, the Arena de Baixada will host four matches including Honduras-Ecuador, Australia-Spain and Algeria versus Russia.
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