GUADALAJARA, June 12 -- Fifa reported an attendance of 44,985 for yesterday's World Cup match between South Korea and the Czech Republic in Guadalajara, but swathes of empty seats around the stadium renewed concerns over ticket pricing and demand for the expanded tournament.

While more than 80,000 squeezed into the Azteca stadium to watch the opener between co-hosts Mexico and South Africa, the optics of unoccupied rows at the 46,000-seat stadium in Guadalajara, a city with a deep-rooted football culture, have intensified criticism of Fifa's commercial strategy for the first 48-team World Cup.

Some fans at the stadium blamed the high ticket prices for the rows of empty seats and criticised Fifa for their pricing model.

Reuters has cont...