Mexico - Ecuador – 2:0 (Quinones, 22, Jimenez, 31).
Guys in green T-shirts were in a hurry to show the Ecuadorians who was the boss in the house. And they succeeded in this. Already in the 22nd minute, with a smart pass from his half of the field, Guadalajara winger and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist for Mexico Roberto Alvarado brought Saudi Al-Qadisiya striker Julian Quinones to a rendezvous with goalkeeper Hernan Galindez. And he opened the scoring with a juicy shot into the near top corner. Villan Pacho, the defender of Paris Saint-Germain, could not prevent the shot, and the goal at close range was on the goalkeeper's conscience.
Just nine minutes later, Quinones added an assist to Wolverhampton forward Raul Jimenez. The Wolves didn't look like predators this season, having been ignominiously relegated to England's second division, and the 35-year-old Jimenez himself scored only two goals in three matches. But this morning, he did it all by himself: he intercepted the ball after a defender failed to take it out, hit the wall with Quinones, got it back, and scored.
And now Mexico will play in the 1/8 finals on July 6 with the winner of the match between England and Congo, which will take place tonight. The British look like favorites, but the Africans can also present a surprise. We'll see!
