FT: Mexico 2-0 Ecuador
Co-hosts Mexico continued their impressive FIFA World Cup campaign with a commanding 2-0 victory over Ecuador to book their place in the Round of 16 at a jubilant Mexico City Stadium.
Goals from Julian Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez in the first half proved enough for Javier Aguirre’s side, who maintained their perfect tournament record and extended their run to four consecutive clean sheets.
The match, delayed by an hour because of adverse weather, began at a frantic pace as Mexico overwhelmed Ecuador from the opening whistle. Gilberto Mora, Luis Romo and Jiménez all threatened before Ecuador briefly responded through John Yeboah, whose effort struck the outside of the post.
Mexico finally broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute when Roberto Alvarado released Quiñones with a perfectly weighted pass. The forward raced clear before rifling an unstoppable shot beyond Hernán Galíndez to send the home crowd into celebration.
The hosts doubled their advantage nine minutes later. Quiñones turned provider, setting up Jiménez, who calmly finished to put Mexico firmly in control before half-time.
Ecuador improved after the break and enjoyed more possession, but struggled to create clear-cut chances against a disciplined Mexican defence marshalled by César Montes and Johan Vásquez. Goalkeeper Raúl Rangel was rarely troubled as he recorded his fourth consecutive clean sheet of the tournament.
Ecuador’s frustrations deepened in stoppage time when defender Piero Hincapié was shown a red card following an altercation with Mexico striker Santiago Giménez.
The victory sends Mexico into the Round of 16 with four wins from four matches, eight goals scored and none conceded, underlining their status as one of the tournament’s strongest teams.
Mexico forward Julian Quiñones credited the team’s unity for their outstanding start.
“Teamwork is what matters most,” Quiñones said. “You can only stand out because of the team’s performance. We have to keep fighting until we achieve what we want.”
Head coach Javier Aguirre’s side will return to the Mexico City Stadium on 5 July to face the winner of the Round of 32 tie between England and Congo DR.
For Ecuador, the defeat brought their World Cup journey to an end.
Coach Sebastián Beccacece admitted Mexico had deserved the victory.
“We were outplayed in the first half,” he said. “We improved after the break, but we couldn’t find the goal that would have brought us back into the match.”
