Mexico’s World Cup run ends short of quarterfinals again with loss to England at Estadio Azteca
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Mexico had an enormous home-field advantage and an opportunity to make its deepest run in the World Cup, but El Tri let it slip away against England on Sunday night.
Playing at altitude with the passionate backing of 80,824 fans at Estadio Azteca, and with a man advantage for most of the second half, Mexico scored twice but could never equalize and lost 3-2.
Mexico hadn't conceded a goal in its first four World Cup matches but had no answer for Jude Bellingham, who scored twice in a 98-second span in the first half.
“To dream and then fall like this hurts deeply, but the players should leave with their heads held high,” coach Javier Aguirre said. “They gave it their all on the pitch, but it wasn’t meant to be today. The fans had high hopes, and we couldn’t get the job done and give them another night of joy.”
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While El Tri made a step forward from their group-stage exit in Qatar in 2022, the defeat leaves a bitter taste for Mexico fans who were hoping to see their country's first quarterfinal appearance since 1986, when it last hosted the World Cup. Mexico has been eliminated in the round of 16 eight times since then.
“We played against a strong team in an amazing stadium, in an amazing country. I feel almost to say sorry that you (Mexicans) are out after seeing all the emotion from the people on the side of the street. You should be proud of your team,” England manager Thomas Tuchel said.
Aguirre will step down after his third stint as Mexico's coach. Rafael Marquez, a former Barcelona defender, who was Aguirre's assistant at this World Cup, will replace him.
“These five matches are unforgettable. I am saying goodbye to the Estadio Azteca and leaving with great pride after so many years,” Aguirre said. “Rafa is a great kid, a valuable coach and he is going to show it. Hopefully he is going to do it better than me.”
It was Mexico's third competitive loss at Azteca, which opened in 1966, after a pair of 2-1 defeats in World Cup qualifiers, to Costa Rica in 2001 and to Honduras in 2013.
“I am sad, we had everything to win the match. (England) did not play well, they had five shots on goal and scored three,” said Mexico fan Ramiro Caballero, a 44-year-old businessman. “It was the perfect scenario to take the next step and now we must wait for that victory.”
Ahead of the game, fans flocked to buy Team Mexico jerseys — FIFA said Mexico's jersey is the tournament's hottest-selling national team shirt, bolstered by the furthest the team has advanced in 40 years.
Leobardo Contreras, who's been selling Team Mexico jerseys from a tent on the west side of St. Paul nonstop for the past few weeks, said he's seen that spike firsthand.
"I'm very, very busy. People buying a lot of shirts — Mexico shirts. This World Cup is crazy, crazy, crazy. It's pretty good for business,” he said.
Contreras estimates he's sold more than 1,000 jerseys since the World Cup began. Among his customers Sunday was Juan Sanchez and his family, who drove from Blaine to St. Paul to find jerseys before the World Cup match against England.
Sanchez, originally from Mexico City, was one of about 10 people crowded around a white tent on Cesar Chavez Street on Sunday.
"I've been watching them for the past two days, and then finally decided, after church we're going to go get them shirts."
Across the street, Lupita Flores said the World Cup has brought customers back to her shop, Novedades Lupita. The federal government's immigration enforcement surge earlier this year scared many away.
"We closed for almost three months. It was very sad because we didn't see people walking around. It was really, really hard for us,” Flores said.
And excitement for the World Cup has helped bring the neighborhood back to life.
"I'm very happy for my community. After what happened at the beginning of the year with the problems with ICE ... now I'm so happy to see everybody smiling, laughing and celebrating."
While Mexico couldn’t come out on top against England, the run — and the pride it brought for fans — will last long after the final whistle.
