Mexico defeats Ecuador and advances to the Round of 16 of the home World Cup

In the 22nd minute, Julian Quiñones gave Mexico the lead. Roberto Alvarado had played the striker in with a long ball from his own half, and Quiñones finished from about twelve meters flat into the short corner under the bar – it was his third goal of the tournament. Quiñones was born in Colombia and is playing in his first World Cup finals for Mexico.

Yeboah as Ecuador's sole disruptive factor

Just nine minutes later, Raúl Jiménez smashed the ball into the top corner. Having anticipated a poorly played pass from the Ecuadorian defense, Jiménez headed in off a cross from Luis Romo in the 31st minute, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance. For Jiménez, it was his 47th international goal – placing him second on Mexico's all-time scoring list behind Javier "Chicharito" Hernández. Already after 30 minutes, the home team led 2:0; afterwards Mexico managed the lead with great composure.

Ecuador had little to counter the host's onslaught in the first half. The South Americans' biggest chance in the opening period came from John Yeboah, who struck the outside of the post in the 18th minute after a strong individual run. Mexico's goalkeeper Raúl Rangel had previously deflected the shot decisively. Yeboah, born in Hamburg, was Ecuador's most conspicuous player and had already caused trouble in the group stage against Germany. Gilberto Mora as well – at 17, the second-youngest starter in a World Cup knockout match after Pelé – tested the goal in the 15th minute with a long-range shot and had another opportunity to seal the game just before halftime in the 45th minute.

Red card for Hincapie in stoppage time

After the break, Mexico sat back and handed Ecuador more possession without relinquishing control. In the 66th and 67th minutes, César Montes missed two headed chances from corners at close range. On the other end, Kevin Rodríguez had Ecuador's first good opportunity of the second half in the 74th minute, but pushed the ball just past the post. In the 89th minute, Piero Hincapié was shown a red card following a video review for covering his mouth with his hand in a dispute with an opponent – an unsporting gesture that referee Slavko Vincic from Slovenia punished after reviewing the footage.

Mexico's long road back to the World Cup Round of 16

For Mexico, it was the first victory in a World Cup knockout round since 1986. Seven times in a row, the "Tri" had been eliminated in the first knockout round between 1994 and 2018. In the home tournaments of 1970 and 1986, the Mexicans had reached the quarterfinals. Once again, the minimum target is the quarterfinals – with an eye on the record mark at the Azteca: in ten World Cup matches at this venue, the Mexicans have recorded eight wins and two draws, never a defeat.

Ecuador had advanced to the knockout round as one of the best third-placed teams following a surprising 2:1 win against Germany. It was only the second time ever that Ecuador had qualified for the knockout phase of a World Cup – in 2006 in Germany, they had reached the Round of 16 and lost 0:1 to England there. This time, the team coached by Sebastián Beccacece, an Argentine in charge of the Ecuadorians, saw their tournament end in the Round of 32. The Ecuadorians have thus never won a knockout match at a World Cup.

Ecuador's brief dream after the Germany upset

Beccacece had described the victory over Germany as "unseren wohl größten Sieg in der Geschichte der Weltmeisterschaften. Wir haben eine Fußballgroßmacht in einem historischen Spiel besiegt." After the wins over Ivory Coast and Curaçao and the draw with the Netherlands, the coach had also said: "Wir fühlen uns auch nicht wie im Himmel. Wir sind auf der Erde." Before the match against Mexico, he spoke of his "26 warriors" and had set the quarterfinals as the target. At the Azteca, his team was brought back down to earth.

The journey to Mexico City had been bumpy for Ecuador. Instead of the planned six hours, the flight had taken nine hours, compounded by traffic chaos, a thunderstorm on the transfer to the hotel and a restless night because Mexican fans celebrated loudly in front of the team hotel. The mood in the Mexican camp, by contrast, was relaxed. Before kickoff, coach Javier Aguirre, who had already managed Mexico in 2002 and now at the home World Cup, had said: "Die Fans sind unser bester 12. Mann."

Mexico plays on Monday at 2:00 a.m. CEST at the Azteca in the Round of 16 against the winner of the match between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and England. Should they advance to the quarterfinals, a heavyweight in the form of Harry Kane of Bayern Munich awaits Aguirre's team. The opening game against England would then become a duel with one of the favorites – and at the same time, revenge for the quarterfinal defeat in 1986, when Aguirre himself was still a midfielder for Mexico.

Outlook: England or Congo as next opponents

With the 2:0 win, Mexico extended its impressive tournament record: three wins in the group stage against South Africa (2:0), South Korea (1:0) and the Czech Republic (3:0), plus the victory in the Round of 32, amount to four wins in four matches and still zero goals conceded. The Mexican "home party" at the World Cup, which is being held in the USA and Canada as well as Mexico, thus moves into the next round.

The Mexican daily "Esto" had branded Aguirre a "WM-Glücksbringer" before the match. After advancing to the Round of 16, the label is likely to stick. In the country itself – participating in a World Cup for the 18th time and hosting for the third time – the excitement is great. The team now stands on the brink of a place in the quarterfinals – the stage where Mexico fell short in both 1970 and 1986. With 17-year-old Mora, the clinical Quiñones and the experienced Jiménez, Aguirre has a mix of youth and experience that has so far lived up to the high expectations at home.