World Cup 2026: Mexico repeats Brazil 1986 and Italy 1990 feat

30.06.26 FT World Cup

Mexico

2

:

Ecuador

0

With a 2-0 win over Ecuador on Tuesday night, Mexico punched their ticket to the Round of 16 at the World Cup, which they are co-hosting with the United States and Canada.

This marks Mexico’s fourth victory in this tournament without conceding a single goal, following their Group A wins over South Africa (2-0), South Korea (1-0), and the Czech Republic (3-0).

World Cup 2026: The official and complete group stage schedule

Only two teams have ever achieved this feat before: Brazil in 1986 and Italy in 1990. After victories against Spain (1-0), Algeria (1-0), and Northern Ireland (3-0) in the group stage, and then a win over Poland (4-0) in the Round of 16, the Seleção were knocked out in the quarterfinals by France on penalties.

Italy, for their part, beat Austria (1-0), the United States (1-0), and Czechoslovakia (2-0) in the group stage, then Uruguay (2-0) in the Round of 16 and Ireland (1-0) in the quarterfinals, before falling to Argentina on penalties after a 1-1 draw (4-3 in the shootout).

This is only Mexico's second ever victory in the World Cup knockout stage, the first coming against Bulgaria in the Round of 16 back in 1986.

Mexico now awaits the winner between England and DR Congo, who face off this Wednesday at 16:00 GMT, for their Round of 16 clash.

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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