In a thrilling match at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Sunday, Mexico faced England in the World Cup round of 16. With 80,824 fans supporting the home team, Mexico aimed for its deepest World Cup run yet. Despite a man advantage in the second half, Mexico lost 3-2.
The match took place at altitude, which offered a potential edge for Mexico. However, they struggled to contain Jude Bellingham, who scored twice in 98 seconds in the first half. Before this match, Mexico hadn’t conceded a goal in the tournament.
“To dream and then fall like this hurts deeply,” said coach Javier Aguirre. “The players should leave with their heads held high. They gave it their all on the pitch, but it wasn’t meant to be today.”
Mexico had not reached the quarterfinals since 1986, and fans had high hopes. This loss continues a pattern of round of 16 eliminations, marking the eighth time since then.
Aguirre, after his third coaching stint with Mexico, steps down. Rafael Marquez, who assisted Aguirre and is a former Barcelona defender, will take over. Aguirre expressed pride in his departure, saying, “Rafa is a great kid, a valuable coach and he is going to show it.”
The defeat is only Mexico’s third competitive loss at Azteca, with past losses in qualifiers against Costa Rica in 2001 and Honduras in 2013.
Ramiro Caballero, a Mexico fan, shared his disappointment: “I am sad, we had everything to win the match. England did not play well; they had five shots on goal and scored three.”
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