Fifa 2015: Football: World game thrills

Myanmar and USA clash in their FIFA U20 World Cup game at the Northland Events Centre.

Whangarei's inaugural 2015 Fifa U-20 World Cup fixture saw fans get their fix of top tier football, with some travelling from as far south as Nelson to catch the action.

As croaky voiced spectators trod out of the Northland Events Centre after game one of the city's four matches - US vs Myanmar - many were left bewildered by the spectacle.

Myanmar supporter Taz Zin Win was nearly speechless post-match, his voice lost to the glorious chants of "Myanmar, Myanmar" which encompassed the stadium throughout the game.

"We like our shouting you know," Win murmured. "I can't speak properly now, my throat's sore."

Win and a group of friends defied the Queen's Birthday weekend traffic and made the journey north from Hamilton to catch a glimpse of their home country's U-20 side playing in Whangarei.

Caught up in the joyous rapture of the international footballing spectacle, Win and his accomplices were gracious in defeat.

"We were unlucky, we could've won it."

Everybody loves an underdog and in this instance, Myanmar were not the only dark horse performers on the night.

The host city of Whangarei - considered to be one of the smaller of the seven host cities throughout the event - pulled out all the stops for a smooth operation.

Local Organising Committee (LOC) venue general manager John Lynch was thrilled with the stadium reaching around 75 per cent capacity for Whangarei's inaugural match.

"Operationally it went really well," he said. "The atmosphere and quality of the event was excellent."

An added surprise was the Myanmar contingent of supporters picking up their own rubbish after the match had wound down.

"They really just added that vibe," Lynch said.

He said police were also happy with the event and that there were no arrests of intoxicated patrons or security breaches.

Looking ahead to tomorrow's fixture - which features Myanmar and Ukraine - Lynch said organisers were looking to continue from where they had left off.