MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥� The 40-year wait is over. Mexicans had learned to live with defeats in the knockout stages of the . On seven occasions, El Tri fans were left heartbroken at this stage.
Not anymore.
Juli谩n Qui帽ones and scored within a nine-minute span in the first half and defeated Ecuador 2-0 on Tuesday night to break a four-decade drought in the knockout stage and progress to the round of 16.
Qui帽ones opened the scoring in the 22nd minute and Jim茅nez added a goal in the 31st for the Mexicans, who had not won a knockout-stage match since defeating Bulgaria in the round of 16 when they hosted the tournament in 1986. Mexico coach Javier Aguirre was one of the starting midfielders in that team in ’86.
鈥淚t means a lot to me because I am one of those who could not progress in the knockout stage,鈥� Aguirre said. 鈥淲e are in the round of 16 and it is happening a great connection with the fans. We are like a family. It is spectacular.鈥�
Mexico lost seven consecutive times at that same stage from 1994 to 2018 and didn’t advance past the group stage in 2022.
Aguirre, who returned as Mexico’s head coach in August of 2024, was an assistant in 1994 and was the coach in 2002 and 2010.
鈥淲e will be on high alert from here until Sunday. We will try to have the players recover from this and we will see if we are able to win again,鈥� Aguirre said.
For Qui帽ones, it was a third goal in the tournament and he is now El Tri鈥檚 second-highest scorer in World Cup history behind Luis 鈥淢atador鈥� Hern谩ndez and Javier 鈥淐hicharito鈥� Hern谩ndez, who scored four each.
Qui帽ones, who was the scoring leader in the Saudi Pro League last season, has become the spark in the attack that Mexico lacked in previous World Cups.
鈥淚 am just happy with the result, that is all that matters now,鈥� said Qui帽ones, who is playing in his first World Cup with Mexico.
The 29-year-old forward arrived in the country from Colombia at age 17 and became a naturalized citizen in 2023.
鈥淟ife is about struggle and fight until you get what you want,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd I am taking full advantage of the opportunity that I got.鈥�
Jim茅nez scored his second goal of the tournament and has 47 with the national team to break a tie with Jared Borgetti. He is five away from tying 鈥淐hicharito鈥� Hern谩ndez as the all-time leading scorer for Mexico.
Mexico will play another home match Sunday against the winner of Wednesday’s .
Playing at the iconic Azteca Stadium, the Mexican squad boasts an undefeated record across 10 World Cup matches. Mexico has just two official losses at the venue 鈥� the last being a World Cup qualifying defeat to Honduras on Sept. 6, 2013.
With the win, Mexico extended its unbeaten run to 12 games, dating back to a friendly loss against Paraguay in November.
Mexico also became the first CONCACAF side to eliminate a team from CONMEBOL in a World Cup knockout match. Teams from South America won the previous five meetings.
The match started one hour after the original scheduled time due to a thunderstorm.
It was the second match of the tournament delayed . A storm during the France-Iraq match at Philadelphia on June 22 caused a 2-hour, 11-minute suspension at the end of the first half. ___
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