Mexico celebrates magical World Cup victory over Czechia
MEXICO CITY — The Mexican national team put a lackluster first half behind them by defeating the Czech Republic in the first half, thanks to a dream second half that allowed them to finish the group stage undefeated, on a night that will be remembered as one of the best nights in Mexican World Cup history.
The celebration of Mexico’s 3-0 victory at Azteca Stadium on Wednesday turned into a tribute to legendary goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who entered the game in the final minutes and received a standing ovation like no other Mexican player in the history of the tournament.
With this defeat, Czech Republic, which could not gain more than one point in the tournament, was eliminated. In the other group match, South Africa defeated South Korea 1-0 in Monterrey and rose to second place. Will have to wait to find out whether South Korea advances as one of the eight best third-place teams or is eliminated.
While the Czech Republic put in a strong performance in the first 45 minutes, Mexico showed little attacking clarity due to a lack of control in midfield.
Everything changed six minutes into the second half as El Tri beat the Czech Republic for their best win of the group stage.
22-year-old Mateo Chávez scored in the 55th minute, aided by Mexico’s lethal counter-attack. Luis Romo set up the goal by shaking off three Czech players in midfield and pushing forward, passing the ball to Chavez, who beat Czech Michal Sadilek and buried his shot to the left of the goal.
Striker Julián Quiñones took advantage of the Czech Republic’s defensive confusion in the penalty area to take the lead in the 61st minute.
Álvaro Fidalgo, a second-half substitute, sealed the victory with an injury-time goal. The run to the final goal began with Ochoa’s thunderous strike, prompting a jubilant celebration from the goalkeeper and his teammates.
The match summed up both the present and the future of the Mexican national team.
Gilberto Mora, a 17-year-old midfielder from Tijuana and the team’s youngest player at the World Cup, was instrumental in setting up many plays that affected the outcome in the second half. With the score 2-0, it was one of the greatest moments in World Cup history for a goalkeeper. Ochoa replaced starting goalkeeper Raúl Rangel and received a standing ovation from a large portion of the 80,824 fans at Azteca Stadium.
Mexico’s Julian Quinones celebrates scoring his team’s second goal against the Czech Republic in their World Cup match in Mexico City on Wednesday.
(Silvia Izquierdo / Associated Press)
Fans honored a player who competed in six World Cups for Mexico by chanting Ochoa’s name every time the goalkeeper touched the ball.
Coach Javier Aguirre said that finishing first in the group was the “primary goal” for Mexico, which qualified for the next round. The team achieved three consecutive wins without conceding a goal in the group stage of the World Cup, a first for the Mexican national team. Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0 in the opening match and South Korea 1-0 in the second match.
The national team, which is hosting the tournament along with Canada and the United States, will face its next opponent, one of the top players from the third-place finisher, on Tuesday at Azteca Stadium.
The only sour note for Mexico came in a scoreless first half, as the restless crowd broke into a popular homophobic chant at least twice. FIFA had previously imposed sanctions on the Mexican football federation to prevent fans from chanting this slogan.
