Mexico didn’t disappoint in front of their own fans at Mexico City Stadium, turning in a strong performance to beat Ecuador 2-0 and book their place in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
The co-hosts broke the deadlock through a well-worked attacking move that caught Ecuador off guard. Roberto Alvarado slipped a pass into space to spring Julian Quiñones, who took the ball in stride and fired it past goalkeeper Hernan Galindez to open the scoring — his third goal of the tournament.
El Tri doubled their advantage soon after, when brilliant interplay between Quiñones and Raul Jiménez carved out space at the edge of the box, allowing Jiménez to curl a finish into the top corner to seal the game and give his team a spot in the next round.
With the win, Javier Aguirre’s men keep alive their bid to match or better Mexico‘s best-ever World Cup showings, the quarterfinal runs they produced as hosts back in 1970 and 1986.
Mexico’s Round of 16 rival and venue
After defeating Ecuador, Mexico will face the winner of England and DR Congo in the Round of 16 on July 5 at Mexico City Stadium, keeping El Tri on home turf for a second straight knockout match.
see also
List of World Cup winners by year: Every champion since 1930
On paper, England would appear to be the likely next opponent, as clear favorites over the African side. Should they come out on top, Mexico would have a chance at revenge, as the two sides have met only once before at a World Cup, back in 1966, when the Europeans won 2-0 in the group stage.
If DR Congo pull off the upset, it would mark their first-ever World Cup meeting with Mexico. The two sides do have one prior meeting, though, a 2006 friendly that the North Americans won 2-1 in the buildup to that year’s World Cup in Germany.
