Mexico 2-0 Ecuador: Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez fire co-hosts into last 16
Co-hosts Mexico ended a painful 40-year wait for a World Cup knockout stage victory as clinical first-half goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez sealed a dominant 2-0 win over Ecuador.
Javier Aguirre’s side defied a pre-match thunderstorm that delayed kick-off by an hour in Mexico City, flying out of the blocks to dismantle their South American opponents and secure a historic place in the round of 16.
The raucous home crowd at the Azteca Stadium was nearly treated to an opener inside seven minutes when the evergreen Jimenez headed just wide, before 17-year-old sensation Gilberto Mora the second-youngest player ever to start a World Cup knockout match after Pele fired narrowly past the post.
Ecuador offered a brief scare when John Yeboah muscled his way into the area and rattled the outside of the woodwork, but the match belonged entirely to El Tri.
The breakthrough arrived in the 22nd minute when Roberto Alvarado threaded a pass to Quinones, who drove purposefully into the penalty area before unleashing a ferocious, unstoppable strike into the roof of the net.
The stadium was plunged into further delirium just nine minutes later as the hosts doubled their advantage, with Quinones turning provider to tee up Jimenez, who lashed an emphatic effort into the top-right corner.
Ecuador tried to shift gears after the interval, but Sebastian Beccacece’s side found no joy against a perfectly organized Mexican rearguard marshalled by Cesar Montes and Johan Vasquez, ensuring goalkeeper Raul Rangel kept a remarkable fourth consecutive clean sheet.
A miserable night for La Tricolor was compounded deep into stoppage time when defender Piero Hincapie was shown a straight red card following a VAR review for an off-the-ball incident with Santiago Gimenez.
Mexico, who have yet to concede a goal in the tournament, will remain at the Azteca on Sunday for a highly anticipated last-16 showdown against either England or the Democratic Republic of Congo..
