Mexico will come to a stop on Tuesday at 7 p.m. when El Tri takes the field to face Ecuador in a World Cup knockout clash.
The Round of 32 contest at Mexico City Stadium pits two teams with high hopes of making history at the global soccer tournament. The hosts are intent on advancing to a fifth game for just the second time ever, while Ecuador aims to win a knockout game for the first time.
Mexico and fans across the nation will be hopeful that playing at home will prove to be an advantage. After all, El Tri’s two best World Cup performances came as host in 1970 and 1986, the team reaching the quarterfinals both times.
Although Mexico was one of just three teams to finish the group stage with a perfect 3-0-0 record (2022 Cup finalists France and Argentina being the other two) and Ecuador qualified as one of the best third-place finishers, the task won’t be easy.
Ecuador is arguably the best of the eight third-place teams to reach the knockout stage (Sebastián Beccacece’s team defeated heavily favored Germany 2-1 on Thursday, a win that Beccacece termed Ecuador’s greatest ever) and the talented team boasts an optimal blend of precocious youth and seasoned experience.
For its part, Mexico has been stingy (one of two teams yet to concede a goal, Spain being the other), but uninspiring on offense. Coach Javier Aguirre also has a blend of youth and experience, but has not demonstrated confidence in the promising young talent.
Setting the stage
This is Ecuador’s fifth World Cup appearance, whereas Mexico is appearing in its 18th World Cup and ninth straight.
Prior to this year, Ecuador advanced out of the group stage just once, that coming in Germany 2006 where the South Americans finished second to the hosts in the group stage before being eliminated by David Beckham and England.
The two teams have met just once before in a World Cup and that came in the group stage at Japan-Korea 2002, a 2-1 victory for El Tri.
Mexico — in Aguirre’s first stint as Team Mexico manager — came from behind to win and went on to finish atop the group, ahead of Italy and Croatia. Ecuador — in its first-ever World Cup appearance — came in last with one win and two losses.
This will be the 26th meeting between the two sides since their first fixture in a 1993 Copa América semifinal at Quito’s Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, a 2-0 Mexico triumph, coincidentally also on June 30.
El Tri leads the all-time series with 13 wins, 4 draws and 8 losses, but Ecuador has lost to El Tri just once in their last six encounters dating back to the 2015 Copa América.
Mexico fans will be quite familiar with three Ecuador players — team captain Enner Valencia plays for Pachuca in Liga MX, midfielder Pedro Vite plays for UNAM and back-up striker Jordy Caicedo is under contract to Atlas of Guadalajara.
With reports from Reuters, Fox Sports and Sports Mole
