Mexico defeats Ecuador to move on to the World Cup round of 16

MEXICO CITY

Julián Quiñones and Raul Jimenez found the net early in the match, leading Mexico to a 2-0 victory over Ecuador on Tuesday night. This win marked the end of a 40-year winless streak for Mexico in the knockout stage, allowing them to progress to the Round of 16 in the World Cup.

Quiñones scored the first goal in the 22nd minute, with Jimenez following up with another in the 31st. It’s worth noting that Mexico hadn’t secured a knockout stage win since 1986, when they overcame Bulgaria in the round of 16.

From 1994 to 2018, Mexico experienced a tough stretch, losing seven consecutive knockout stage matches.

Ecuador, on the other hand, was hoping to reach the Round of 16 for only the second time, the first being in 2006.

This victory was also significant for Quiñones, who netted his third goal of the tournament. This places him as the second-highest goal scorer for Mexico in World Cup history, just behind Luis “Matador” Hernandez and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, who have four goals each.

Meanwhile, Jimenez’s goal was his second of the tournament and brought his total to 47 for the national team. This achievement puts him just five goals shy of tying the all-time scoring record for Mexico, held by Chicharito Hernandez.

Next, Mexico will face the winner of Wednesday’s match between England and Congo, with one more home game set for Sunday. They’ll be playing at the legendary Azteca Stadium, where they have remained unbeaten in ten World Cup matches. Surprisingly, the last competitive loss at this venue occurred back in September 2013, against Honduras during a World Cup qualifier.

This win extends Mexico’s unbeaten streak to 12 games since they lost to Paraguay in a friendly match last November. Interestingly, they also made history as the first CONCACAF team to eliminate a CONMEBOL team in the World Cup finals, despite South American teams having dominated the last five tournaments.

The game started an hour later than planned due to thunderstorms, which caused delays earlier in the tournament as well—like the match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, which had to be suspended for over two hours due to rain.