Mexico's Standout Performance in World Cup

This was a real statement performance from Mexico, wasn't it, in the knockouts?

Yeah, what a game, what a performance from Mexico, right?

This was a standout performance.

We were asking pre-game whether it would be a performance that would basically make

us sit up and take notice that they mean business, or would it be just another

performance that we were waiting for more from this Mexican national side?

That first 45 minutes, I think, has probably put fear into any opponent that

comes their way, especially when they play now at the Azteca.

Still undefeated in World Cup games at the Azteca.

It's now 10 games they've gone, and incredibly enough, they've won six of them.

And that was one of the best first half performances I've seen from the Mexican

national team for years, for a very long time.

Standout performers, team collectively, stadium eruption.

I mean, the coach on the sidelines, Aguirre,

everything looks like it's going perfectly well.

They still haven't conceded a goal at all in this competition.

That's incredible in itself.

I didn't expect the defense to be as solid as it has been.

But Ecuador didn't offer much in this game, first 45 minutes.

Second half, they had 70% possession, they had one shot on target.

It's just not good enough in a knockout stage game when you are going up against

Mexico at the Azteca.

You need to be adventurous.

You need to try and make it happen.

Second half, there was a little bit of effort from Ecuador to try, but

their quality was absolutely gone.

And I think Mexico deserve a ton of praise.

They deserve so much support now from their own.

Countrymen, countrywomen, the children, the next generation of players who are

coming through, the inspiration they are giving to their people right now.

You gotta get behind that team because when you do,

you can see that the impossible is now starting to become the possible.

This is a football nation that thinks of itself as a country who is deserving

of being among the very best in the world.

With your Spain's, your England's, your France's, your Argentina's,

your Brazil's, Mexico is an incredibly proud country.

It is a country that believes that it has a footballing tradition,

is by far the number one sport.

You walk around the streets and you hear nothing but

conversation about Liga MX and the Mexican national team all the time.

And yet the performances that the national team have put out have not

merited that.

Obviously there is.

for the first time we see them win a knockout round game for 40 years which is obviously the

quinto partido that has been talked about. I personally am not of the belief that with an

expanded World Cup with a round of 32 beating a third place team and ultimately Ecuador showed

themselves to be of the level of a third place team in this World Cup is really lifting that

curse. For me this is about going on to a quarterfinal now and beating a proper footballing

nation which is what in all likelihood awaits them. Next up is the winner of England and DR

I think if we see Mexico go on to that next game and play England and contest that game well and

maybe even edge it at the end that is the World Cup being on their home soil delivering on a

promise. A promise of a new day for Mexican football which is I think something that has

probably been needed for a while. Mexico is a country that got stale for a long time in terms

of not being able to win in the knockout round in terms of the status of their football. I think

this could be a springboard for something much bigger than performing well at this tournament

for the future of Mexican football.