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Mexico concluded the group stage of the 2026 World Cup with a convincing victory over Czech Republic this Wednesday at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, achieving a perfect record of nine points and an unbeaten defense in the three matches of the .
The score remained at zero throughout the first half, but the second half was a Mexican monologue. The three goals came in the last 35 minutes of the match, according to the .
Mateo Chávez García opened the scoring in the 55 minute with his first goal in a World Cup, finishing from the left wing to make it 1-0. Just six minutes later, in the 61st minute, Julián Quiñones —already a scorer in the debut against South Africa— extended the lead to 2-0.
The Czech Republic tried to respond with a flurry of substitutions: Provod came on in the 56th minute, Schick and Soucek in the 64th, and Chory and Sojka in the 87th. However, none were able to threaten the Mexican goal.
The third goal came in stoppage time. Álvaro Fidalgo, a midfielder born in Asturias and naturalized Mexican, had entered as a substitute in the 72nd minute and sealed the match with the final score of 3-0 in the 90th minute.
The statistics reveal a striking paradox: the Czech Republic had greater possession (51% compared to 49% for Mexico) and more total shots (12 against nine), but managed to hit the target with only one shot. El Tri, on the other hand, placed three of their nine attempts on goal, an effectiveness that explains the outcome. The only yellow card of the match was issued to E. Álvarez (Mexico) in the 64th minute.
With this victory, Group A is fully defined. Mexico leads with 9 points, six goals in favor and none against. South Africa advances in second place with four points, and South Korea qualifies as the best third with three. The Czech Republic is eliminated with just one point, resulting from a draw against South Africa and two losses.
El Tri, led by Javier Aguirre, had become the first team of the tournament to secure its qualification weeks earlier by defeating South Korea on June 18. This Wednesday, it also confirmed that it reached the round of 16 without having conceded a single goal during the group stage, a historic achievement for El Tri as the host.
Mexico had made a winning debut against South Africa on June 11 with a score of 2-0, and achieved their second victory on June 18 against South Korea by 1-0, thus creating a perfect group stage before facing the knockout round.
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