Mexico beat Ecuador 2-0 at Estadio Azteca in a round-of-32 match that started an hour late after thunderstorms forced a delay. Julian Quinones opened the scoring and Raul Jimenez added a superb finish in the 31st minute, giving Mexico control before Ecuador could settle into the game.
The result kept Mexico's clean sheet run alive at the tournament, with Spain the only other side yet to concede. That matters because the winner moves on to the last 16 at Estadio Azteca, where England or DR Congo await, and Mexico now look close to taking another step in a tournament where every goal against had been avoided until this night.
For Ecuador, the frustration was not just the two-goal deficit. They kept pressing after falling behind and tried to force a way back through changes, but the game never quite found their rhythm. Kendry Paez, who debuted for Ecuador at 16, broke into the first team at Independiente del Valle at 15, has signed for Chelsea and had also been on loan at Strasbourg and River Plate, yet he had barely featured at this World Cup and came on only after Angulo was withdrawn. Jordy Caicedo also came on for John Yeboah, while Mexico used all five substitutions and kept the pressure on with Pineda and Reyes replacing Alvarado and Julian Quinones, then Vargas and Gimenez coming on for Romo and Raul Jimenez.
Ecuador's best opening came late, when Caicedo sent a long ball forward, Rangel was caught on it and Rodriguez tried to poke the ball beyond the keeper, only for the attempt to drift just wide of the near post. It was the kind of chance that can turn a knockout match, but by then Mexico had already done the hard part. If the night ended with one team sounding settled and the other searching for a breakthrough, it was because Mexico had the cleaner edge when the game finally mattered most.
