Mexico's 40-year wait ends; Quiñones and his team reach the Round of 16 after defeating Ecuador

Xtratime Web Desk

Mexico finally ended their 40-year wait for a FIFA World Cup knockout-stage victory with a commanding 2-0 win over Ecuador, sealing their place in the Round of 16.

Julian Quiñones gave Mexico the lead in the 22nd minute before Raúl Jiménez doubled the advantage shortly afterwards, ensuring a memorable victory. It marks Mexico's first win in the World Cup knockout rounds since 1986, ending decades of frustration on football's biggest stage.

From 1994 to 2018, Mexico reached the Round of 16 in seven consecutive World Cups but failed to progress beyond that stage each time. Their campaign hit a new low in Qatar 2022, where they were eliminated in the group stage for the first time since 1978. Sunday's victory finally put those disappointments behind them.

Quiñones also reached another personal milestone. With his latest strike, he now has four World Cup goals, moving into joint second place on Mexico's all-time World Cup scoring list alongside Luis "El Matador" Hernández and Javier "Chicharito" Hernández. All three players have scored four goals in the tournament, with only one player ahead of them in Mexico's World Cup scoring charts.

Jiménez, meanwhile, continued his climb up Mexico's all-time international scoring rankings. His 47th goal for the national team saw him overtake Jared Borgetti to move into second place on the list. The experienced striker is now just five goals behind Mexico's all-time leading scorer, Javier "Chicharito" Hernández.

Mexico will now face the winner of the Round of 16 clash between England and DR Congo for a place in the quarter-finals.

The victory also extended Mexico's remarkable record at the Azteca Stadium. They are now unbeaten in their last 10 World Cup matches at the iconic venue.

In addition, Mexico created another piece of history by becoming the first CONCACAF nation to eliminate a South American team in the knockout stages of a FIFA World Cup.

The match itself was delayed by an hour due to heavy rain and thunderstorms, marking the second weather-related delay of the tournament after an earlier match involving France.

Having finally broken their 40-year knockout curse, Mexico will now turn their attention to an even bigger goal—reaching the World Cup quarter-finals.