MEXICO CITY — For Javier Aguirre, leading Mexico to its first World Cup straight elimination victory in four decades wasn’t enough for it to be a perfect night. One thing was missing.“A whiskey. Right now, a whiskey on the rocks, and I no longer have any in my room, I ran out ... please don’t tell anyone,” Aguirre quipped to the assembled media postgame.He wasn’t alone. The only thing that could stop Mexican supporters from singing “Dale, Dale, Dale, Mexico!” as they poured out of the Estadio Azteca following the dominant 2–0 win against Ecuador in the round of 32 was the unmistakeable scream from a vendor announcing there was still some Tequila left. It prompted booming cheers, as if El Tri had just found the back of the net for the third time on the night. “We're bringing out the Angel tonight,” was the next scream to provoke a loud cheer, referencing the celebrations that went deep into the early hours of July at Mexico City’s Angel of Independence, where over a million supporters were expected to celebrate what is likely the biggest win in El Tri’s World Cup history. The breathtaking celebrations are on in Mexico City after El Tri's historic win 🤯 pic.twitter.com/k6nJRTInxX— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 1, 2026Mexico didn’t simply beat Ecuador, it broke the mythical curse of “El Quinto Partido,” a 40-year drought that spanned eight World Cup appearances without playing five games in a single tournament—the longest such drought in the tournament folklore. “This means a lot to me,” Aguirre confessed. “Especially because I’m one of those that wasn’t able to make it to that fifth game in South Africa [2010] and Korea [2002]. And it hurts a lot because you play a good first stage and then you fall by the wayside for various reasons that right now would be pointless to remember.“But well, I think tonight was a beautiful night for all Mexicans, yeah, I think so.” That’s putting it mildly. Aguirre was on the pitch when Mexico beat Bulgaria 2–1 in the 1986 round of 16 at the Azteca. Now, 40-years-later—after two unsuccessful attempts in his first two stints as the team’s manager—he was on the touchline guiding Mexico to its first knockout win since, one that vanquished demons that defined El Tri for generations. The Curse of ‘El Quinto Partido’Arjen Robben’s controversial penalty in Brazil 2014 is a scar that’s never fully healed for El Tri fans. | Emmanuel Dunad/AFP/Getty ImagesEvery four years, it was simply impossible to escape it. “Can Mexico make El Quinto Partido?” was the only question that mattered for an entire country leading up to a World Cup. Previously, making the fifth game meant winning a knockout game and advancing to the tournament quarterfinals, something Mexico hasn’t done since it hosted the tournament in 1986. Generations came and went, the curse remained immovable. Mexico and five-time champion Brazil were the only two nations to qualify past the group stage across seven consecutive World Cups between 1994 and 2018. However, while Brazil lifted the trophy twice and made three finals in that span, Mexico’s curse became part of its culture. Seven straight trips to the round of 16, seven straight failed attempts at making the quarterfinals. In that time, Mexico successfully explored every possible way. Penalty shootout heartache to Bulgaria in 1994, Oliver Bierhoff’s 86th minute winner for Germany in 1998, an embarrassing 2–0 defeat to arch-enemy the USMNT in 2002 and Maxi Rodríguez’s screamer in extra time in 2006—the first of two consecutive eliminations at the hands of Argentina.WIN FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™ FINAL TICKETS & OTHER PRIZESCompete against the world. | Sports IllustratedBy far the most painful? The Netherlands in 2014. “No era penal” (it wasn’t a penalty) the everlasting memory of Mexico’s heartbreaking elimination in Brazil 2014, when Arjen Robben’s controversial penalty saw El Tri concede twice in the final five minutes to keep the curse alive. That scar never fully healed, especially when Brazil bested Mexico four years later and then the atrocity that was Mexico’s campaign in Qatar 2022 happened.Making the fifth game in 2026 no longer means making the quarterfinals, with the expanded 48-team field leading to the creation of the round of 32. Now, the fifth game equals a trip to the round of 16. Is it worth the same as before? By the letter of the law, no. But the greatest myths, legends and even curses aren’t based on laws or rational thinking, they’re based on emotions. And after defeating Ecuador, dare trying to explain a Mexico fan that what they witnessed on Tuesday night didn’t feel like breaking free from history.The Game Was Over Before It Even Started¡No los quieren dejar dormir! Sonando las bocinas de sus autos y hasta el motor de una motocicleta, aficionados mexicanos hacen escándalo afuera del hotel de concentración de Ecuador.📹 Abimael Chimal pic.twitter.com/tbSBRv9k2O— REFORMA (@Reforma) June 30, 2026Mexico “12th player”—as Aguirre not-so-originally nicknamed El Tri fans—made sure Ecuador’s team didn’t sleep. Roaring motorcycle engines, herds of cars blasting their horns and drummers gathered outside of La Tri’s team hotel to greet Mexico’s rivals with a hostile serenade. Ecuador’s federation releasing a statement complaining about the situation only emboldened Mexican support who now felt like it had played its part. “It’s gonna be 2–0, easy,” Flavio, a taxi driver—not a prophet—wearing El Tri’s green jersey as per the team’s instructions said confidently some eight hours before the game. For hours, the party atmosphere at the Estadio Azteca’s concourse completely disregarded the notion that Ecuador was deemed as a potential dark-horse entering the tournament. Instead, it felt like the green armada at the mythical stadium was gathering to witness history.Nobody wanted to miss the momentous opportunity, not even ancient deities essential to Mexico’s culture. “Tláloc (the Azteca God of rain) is here to watch us make history,” a Mexico fan yelled, prompting laughs and cheers from the sea of fans marching up the unending Azteca ramps. Tláloc did indeed arrive, as a veil of rein watered the Azteca pitch for over an hour before kickoff. Whenever Tláloc decided to make his presence felt with a flash of lightning followed by a roar of thunder, the crowd responded with ecstatic cheers as if it was having a conversation with an old ancestor, ignoring the fact that the start of game had to be pushed back for an hour. A sense of confidence bordering on arrogance was palpable all day throughout Mexico City and particularly at the Azteca leading up to the game. Once the match kicked-off, it became abundantly clear that the bravado of the more than 80,000 wearing green in attendance was entirely justified. Exactly 12 years after the "it wasn’t a penalty” heartbreak, the Netherlands bowed out of the 2026 World Cup on penalties in the Mexican city of Monterrey—and the crowd didn’t let the Oranje hear the end of it. A day later, El Tri took the most important step towards finally healing all wounds. Mexico‘s Greatest Ever World Cup Performance?Mexico ran Ecuador out of the Azteca. | Wu Wei/Xinhua/Getty ImagesIt was simply uncompetitive. Mexico unequivocally erased Ecuador from the pitch at the Azteca, producing not only the best soccer of the Aguirre era but also the greatest 45 minutes in El Tri’s World Cup history in a truly breathtaking first half. A backline headlined by one of the best defensive midfielders on the planet in Moises Caicedo, Premier League champion left back Piero Hincapié and back-to-back Champions League winner William Pacho, looked completely out of sorts. After 26 consecutive games without conceding more than one goal, Mexico scored twice against the best defense in South America in just 31 minutes—and it could’ve easily been more. Mexico was bold, exciting and flashy in the first half before morphing into the sturdy defensive side that’s defined its World Cup journey so far in the second. The game could’ve gone another two hours and Ecuador would still be looking to find a goal to get back in the game. For the first time in World Cup history, a Concacaf side eliminated a Conmebol side in a straight elimination clash.“It was a complete game,” Aguirre said. “Especially because of the communion with the people [at the stadium]. It was a good game, one to remember surely.”Gilberto Mora (middle) became the youngest player since Pelé to start a World Cup knockout match—and he shined. | Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty ImagesFour wins from four without conceding a goal and matching Mexico’s highest scoring tournament ever with eight goals. A simply an unprecedented World Cup campaign.Fifth game curse? Lifted. What’s next? The round of 16 on Sunday in the last game of the 2026 World Cup on Mexican soil, at the Azteca, with El Tri now looking to make the quarterfinals for the first time in 40 years. The rival? Well, a large cluster of El Tri fans marching out of the Azteca made its wish abundantly clear asking one simple question. “Where is England? Where is England?”READ THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow