It started with a storm delay. Lightning over Mexico City. An hour of waiting. And then Mexico went out and did something no World Cup team has done in nearly 20 years.
El Tri beat Ecuador 2-0 on Tuesday at Estadio Azteca. They’re into the Round of 16. But the story here is the defense. It hasn’t just been good. It’s been historic.
Mexico has now won its first four games of this World Cup without conceding a single goal. That puts them in a club with exactly two other teams: Italy in 1990 and Italy in 2006. That’s it. No one else. Not Brazil. Not Germany. Not France.
The numbers behind the streak
It’s not like Mexico drew a soft path either. They beat South Africa, South Korea, Czechia, and Ecuador. Combined score across those four games: 8-0. The back line has not cracked once. Not when South Korea pushed in transition. Not when Ecuador had a late surge after going down 2-0.
Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has made a handful of big saves. The center backs have been sharp. The whole unit operates like they’ve been playing together for a decade, which some of them basically have.
Beyond the shutout record
Tuesday’s win had extra weight. It was Mexico’s first knockout round victory in a World Cup since 1986. That’s not a typo. Forty years. Raul Jimenez opened the scoring. Julian Quiñones added the second, his third goal of the tournament.
The game also marked a first for CONCACAF. Mexico became the first team from the region to eliminate a South American side in World Cup knockout play. CONMEBOL teams had won the previous five meetings between the two confederations at that stage.
Coach Javier Aguirre isn’t getting carried away. But he knows what’s at stake. Mexico has been chasing the “Quinto Partido” — the fifth game, the quarterfinal — since 1986. One more win and they’re there.
That next game comes Sunday back at Azteca. The opponent is either England or DR Congo. Mexico’s defense hasn’t been broken yet. And if it stays that way, the drought might finally end.
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