Mexico Top Group, Eye England at Azteca
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- Mexico swept through the group stage unbeaten — four wins from four games, eight goals scored and none conceded — after Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez struck to beat Ecuador in the final group match.
- England face DR Congo in the last 32, with the winner meeting Mexico at Azteca Stadium, where Mexico boast a 70-win, 17-draw, 2-defeat record across 89 competitive games and are unbeaten in 10 World Cup matches at the venue.
- Gilberto Mora, aged 17 years and 259 days, became the second-youngest player to start a World Cup knockout match, trailing only Pelé (17 years, 239 days) in 1958.
- Mexico's defense has faced just six shots on target in four games, with BBC Radio 5 Live's Efan Ekoku calling it "one of the best performances from a Mexico side in a while."
- Mexico broke their long-running "quinto partido" curse — the tendency to be eliminated in their fourth game at every World Cup from 1990 through 2018 (they failed to escape the group in 2022) — by reaching the knockout rounds.
- Ange Postecoglou, speaking on ITV, warned that if England travel to Mexico "it's going to be like stepping into a different World Cup for them," citing the home crowd support and atmosphere.
- Julian Quinones, who plays for Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia, took his tournament tally to three goals in four games with a blistering opener against Ecuador that gave the goalkeeper no chance.
Why it matters: Mexico have not advanced past the World Cup quarter-finals in their history, but a draw that pairs them with England at Azteca — where they've lost twice in 89 competitive matches — would test whether this unbeaten, zero-conceded run translates against a top-tier opponent. The last-16 winner moves within two games of a semifinal, a stage Mexico have never reached.
