Forty years is a long time to wait for anything. For Mexico’s national football team, it was the exact length of their knockout-stage drought at the FIFA World Cup, a curse that finally ended on June 30, 2026, when El Tri dispatched Ecuador 2-0 in the round of 32 at the iconic Estadio Azteca.
The last time Mexico won a World Cup knockout game, that victory came on June 15, 1986, against Bulgaria.
How Mexico finally broke the curse
Julián Quiñones opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. Raúl Jiménez added the insurance goal to seal the 2-0 result and send Ecuador packing.
Ecuador’s task went from difficult to impossible when defender Piero Hincapié was shown a red card in the second half.
