Mexico defeated Ecuador 2-0 on Tuesday night (30), at the Azteca Stadium, and secured their place in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
and were the scorers of the goals that secured Mexico’s classification in the capital of their country. This was the first victory for The Tricolor in a World Cup knockout game since 1986, when they beat Bulgaria and reached the quarterfinals.
With the triumph, the Mexican team awaits the winner of the duel between DR Congo to discover their opponent in the next phase. The match takes place this Wednesday (1st), at 1pm (Brasília time), in Atlanta. The hosts of the competition will return to the field on Sunday (5), at 9 pm, again at Azteca.
Ecuador, on the other hand, says goodbye to the second time they went through the group stage. In the first, The Three was beaten by England 1-0, in a round of 16 clash in the 2006 edition, hosted in Germany.
About the match
Encouraged by the fans who filled the Azteca Stadium, Mexico started to put pressure on their opponents. His first opportunity came after just five minutes, with a shot past midfielder Gilberto Mora. Afterwards, midfielder Luis Romo took a risk and sent the ball very far from the opponent’s goal.
In the seventh minute, Mora launched Romo, who launched from the right and crossed to the head of striker Raúl Jiménez, but he missed the target. At 15, the 17-year-old Mexican hit inside the area and the ball scraped the post.
The first arrival from Ecuador occurred shortly afterwards. In a beautiful individual play, winger John Yeboah gave defender César Montes a pen and shot at the post. In the 22nd minute, winger Roberto Alvarado made a beautiful pass to striker Julián Quiñones, who scored well and put the Mexicans ahead.
And it didn’t take long to The Tricolor widen the difference in the score. Jiménez took advantage of a mistake by the defense, played with Quiñones and finished strongly to make it 2-0 in Mexico City. At the 40-minute mark, Yeboah passed two markers and shot to a great save by goalkeeper Raúl “Tala” Rangel.
Before the end of the first half, the home team had two other chances with Jiménez, but they didn’t hit the target. In the first minute of the second half, Alvarado received a free kick on the right and went wide.
Needing the result, The Three went on the attack in search of a draw. In the first attempt, midfielder Pedro Vite took a long shot and sent it over the rival goal. Later, in the 22nd minute, it was the Mexicans who were scared with Montes, who headed firmly and saw goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez make a great save.
The South Americans were only in danger at the 29-minute mark, where center forward Kevin Rodríguez was launched and played out when Raúl Rangel left. Amidst a barrage of crosses from the Ecuadorian side, Mexico almost doubled with midfielder Orbelín Pineda’s shot wide of the target.
In stoppage time, defender Piero Hincapié, from Ecuador, covered the ball to speak to the opponent, something that is no longer allowed following FIFA’s new recommendation. Referee Slavko Vincic saw the move in the VAR booth and sent off the field player.
