Mexico broke a 40-year drought without a win in the knockout stage by defeating Ecuador 2-0 on Tuesday night. The victory allowed the Mexican squad to progress to the World Cup round of 16.
Julián Quiñones opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, followed by a strike from Raúl Jiménez in the 31st minute. This win marked Mexico's first knockout-stage victory since defeating Bulgaria in 1986.
The match at Azteca Stadium began one hour later than originally scheduled due to a thunderstorm. This was the second match of the tournament impacted by weather.
With this performance, Quiñones recorded his third goal of the tournament, making him the second-best scorer in Mexico's World Cup history behind Luis Hernandez and Javier Hernandez. Jiménez scored his second goal of the tournament, bringing his national team total to 47 goals.
Mexico also became the first CONCACAF team to eliminate a CONMEBOL side in a World Cup knockout match. Previously, South American teams had won the last five such meetings.
The win extended Mexico's unbeaten run to 12 games. The team is scheduled to play another home match on Sunday against the winner of the match between England and Congo.
Ecuador was attempting to reach the round of 16 for the first time since 2006.
