Mexico ended a 40-year wait for a World Cup knockout victory as first-half goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez secured a 2-0 win over Ecuador on Tuesday, sending the co-hosts into the last 16 amid euphoric scenes at a rocking Azteca Stadium.
The round of 32 victory was Mexico’s first in the knockout stages of a World Cup since beating Bulgaria on home soil in 1986.
They have booked a meeting with England or the Democratic Republic of Congo in the next round, with the co-hosts returning to the Azteca for the stadium’s final match of the tournament.
Kick-off was delayed by an hour due to thunderstorms but the weather did little to dampen an atmosphere that surpassed even Mexico’s tournament opener, with over 80,000 fans turning the venue into a sea of green long before the opening whistle.
Teenager Gilberto Mora then came within inches of producing one of the goals of the tournament, whipping a fierce effort from a tight angle just beyond Hernan Galindez’s far post.
Ecuador weathered the early pressure and almost stunned the home crowd when Gonzalo Plata launched a swift counter-attack that ended with John Yeboah skipping past his marker before drilling an angled effort against the outside of the post.
Mexico’s breakthrough arrived in the 22nd minute though and sparked deafening celebrations around the Azteca.
Roberto Alvarado picked out Quinones with a perfectly weighted pass-through Ecuador’s high press and the Colombian-born forward shrugged off Willian Pacho before opening his body and unleashing a thunderous finish into the top corner for his third goal of the tournament.
Mexico doubled their advantage nine minutes later after Ecuador cheaply surrendered possession on the edge of their own penalty area.
Jimenez started the move himself, exchanged passes with Quinones and rifled a first-time strike into the top corner for his 47th international goal, moving within five of Javier Hernandez’s all-time Mexico scoring record.
Ecuador enjoyed more of the ball after the restart as they searched for a way back into the contest, but without threatening Rangel.
Ecuador threw men forward in the closing stages but found no way past a disciplined Mexico defence, still to concede a goal in the tournament, and their frustration boiled over when defender Piero Hincapie was shown a red card after covering his mouth while arguing with Santiago Gimenez. -Reuters
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