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Mexico welcomes Ecuador this Tuesday at the —the legendary Azteca— in one of the most exciting matches of the , with the whistle for kickoff scheduled for 19:00 local time (21:00 Cuba time).
El Tri arrives at the match as one of the most solid teams in the tournament. Under the direction of Javier Aguirre, Mexico finished the group stage as the undisputed leader of Group A: three victories, nine points, six goals scored, and a clean sheet.
Defeated South Africa 2-0, then overcame South Korea 1-0 and concluded the first phase with a thumping 3-0 victory against the Czech Republic, with goals from Julián Quiñones, Raúl Jiménez, and Mateo Chávez García.
It was also the first team in the tournament to secure its qualification for the next round on June 18.
Ecuador, on the other hand, reached this stage through the back door. After losing their debut against Ivory Coast with a goal from Amad Diallo in the 89th minute and drawing 0-0 against Curaçao, La Tri needed an outstanding result on the final matchday.
He did it: on June 25 he defeated Germany 2-1 at MetLife Stadium, overcoming Sané's early goal with strikes from Nilson Angulo in the eighth minute and Gonzalo Plata in the 76th. That victory, combined with other favorable results, allowed him to advance as one of the best third-place teams in the tournament with four points.
The irony of the draw meant that Ecuador, which eliminated Germany in the group stage, now faces Mexico. The Germans, for their part, were eliminated on Monday by Paraguay in a penalty shootout (1-1, 3-4 on penalties) and are out of the tournament.
The match carries an enormous historical weight for the host. El Tri bears the so-called "curse of the fifth match": between 1994 and 2018, they fell seven consecutive times in the round of 16, and in Qatar 2022, they didn't even reach that stage, being eliminated in the group phase. The last time Mexico advanced past the round of 16 was precisely in the World Cup of 1986, when they were also the hosts.
Now, once again as hosts, the fans dream of overcoming that historical trauma. Aguirre himself summarized it before the debut: "It is hardly likely that the current players will experience another World Cup in Mexico."
In the overall history between both teams, Mexico leads with 15 wins, eight draws, and four losses in 27 matches. However, in the last six encounters, Ecuador has only lost once, with the three most recent ending in a draw. The only World Cup encounter between the two was in the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup, with Mexico winning 2-1.
The match between Mexico and Ecuador in the round of 32 is the first encounter between these teams in a World Cup in 24 years, and the winner will advance to the round of 16 of the tournament, where Mexico might finally face —and overcome— its biggest historical ghost. Follow all the details of the in real time.
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