Pele was one of many who missed the first half of Brazil’s World Cup match against Mexico yesterday after being caught in traffic as fans rushed to get home before kickoff.

“For the first time I had to listen to the first half of a Brazil game inside a car, we were stuck in traffic,” the Brazilian soccer great told Globo TV.

Widely regarded as the greatest ever player, Pele at least missed no goals with the tournament favourites being held to a 0-0 draw in Fortaleza.

Much of Brazil ground to a halt for the match, the hosts’ second of the tournament, with the second largest city Sao Paulo suffering near record traffic jams as scores of residents rushed back home to watch.

Sao Paulo transportation authorities said that at its peak, 302 km of roads and highways were backed up in the city. The all time high was 344 km on May 23.