Mexico registered a Round of 16 qualification after Tuesday’s 2-0 run over Ecuador in a full-house Azteca Stadium in the knockout stage of its 40-year pursuit on a world Cup berth.
The two were followed by Julian Quinones’ second half goal to put the world teams on a frame of mind for a World Cup knock-out victory that the co-hosts had not experienced at home since beating Bulgaria at the 1986 tournament.
Thundershows forced the game to be postponed one hour, but over 80,000 fans of the sport filled the iconic Azteca Stadium in a sea of green, and created a fantastic atmosphere.
Mexico took a battering early as Raul Jimenez and teenage phenomenon Gilberto Mora both came close and Ecuador threatened the visitors’ defence with Gonzalo Plata and John Yeboah, who found the rebound from the post.
They made a breakthrough in the 22nd minute by the pass into Julian Quinones was well placed for Roberto Alvarado. The attacker ignored his game’s man in front of him and then produced a mesmerising shot into the top corner to make his third goal in the tournament.
A nine-minute later, Mexico took their double lead after Ecuador lost their ball, this time close to their own penalty box. The goaltenners played very well together before hands-on Jimenez hit a first time finish into the top corner and joined Javier Hernandez to take him up to five goals from the international mark.
However, Ecuador was given an opportunity to score before half-time but goalkeeper Raul Rangel made a great save to tip-off John Yeboah and keep Mexico 2 goals ahead.
The win will advance Mexico to the Round of 16, where they will knock off England or DRC. In addition, it is one of the nation’s biggest World Cup wins of the past few decades on home soil.