Mexico v Ecuador

Mexico become the second co-hosts to book their place in the round of 16, ending a 40-year wait for a victory in the knockout stages with a 2-0 win over Ecuador at Mexico City Stadium. After failing to hit the back of the net in the opening quarter-hour despite gilt-edged chances for both Mora and Jimenez, El Tri rode their luck, as Yeboah sent a close-range effort off the woodwork, before capitalising on their fortune to take the lead 22 minutes in, through Quinones’ powerful finish. Nine minutes later, with the hydration break in between, Jimenez made amends for his earlier miss with a well-taken strike after interchanging neatly with Quinones, which gave his side an unassailable lead at the break. Beccacece’s team resorted to hopeful crosses from deep that failed to produce many chances in the second half, with Rodriguez’s mishit effort in front of an oncoming Rangel the lone exception after the break. A heated final frame saw Hincapie sent off for covering his mouth to have words with Gimenez, but they were unable to use that frustration to spur anything positive on the pitch, as the CONMEBOL side fall to defeat with just 0.73 xG (1.02 for El Tri). The win puts Mexico through to the round of 16, where they will take on either England or DR Congo, while Ecuador’s first trip past the group stage in 20 years ends at the first hurdle. That concludes our commentary of the 2026 World Cup round-of-32 knockout tie between Mexico and Ecuador - we hope you’ve enjoyed it!

FULL-TIME: MEXICO 2-0 ECUADOR

90'+9'

Yellow Card

Moises Caicedo is shown a yellow card in the ninth minute of added time, for sticking out a leg to catch Pineda extremely late, right in front of the referee.

The fourth official indicates seven minutes will be added to the end of the match for stoppages.

90'+5'

Red Card

RED CARD FOR HINCAPIE! ECUADOR ARE DOWN TO 10! After pushing his forehead into the face of Gimenez in search of a reaction, the Arsenal defender covers his mouth and has something to say to the substitute striker, who immediately alerts the referee. A new directive at this World Cup: obstructing your mouth while having heated words with an opponent is a dismissible offence - which gives Slavko Vincic cause to send him off after a quick VAR review!

90'+3'

Yellow Card

Paez shows his frustration as his late kick sends Pineda to the ground in midfield, which earns the young Ecuador player a yellow card.