Co-hosts Mexico ended a 40-year wait to win a knockout game as they defeated Ecuador in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 game at Mexico City Stadium on Tuesday.
Updated: July 1, 2026, 1:29 PM IST
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Ecuador’s Piero Hincapie (right) was sent off in FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match vs Mexico. (Photo: IANS)
Mexico vs Ecuador FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32: The Round of 32 clash of FIFA World Cup 2026 between co-hosts Mexico and Ecuador at the Mexico City Stadium on Tuesday was marred by the second sending-off due to the governing body’s new rule regarding players ‘covering their mouth’. Piero Hincapie of Ecuador was the second player to be send off in FIFA World Cup 2026 for ‘covering his mouth’ against Mexico’s Santiago Gimenez.
The sending-off somewhat marred a historical moment for the home side as they ended a 40-year drought to reach the World Cup Round of 16 with a 2-0 win over Ecuador on Tuesday. Hincapie was sent off deep into the stoppage time for his offence.
Under FIFA’s new rules, a player who covers their mouth with a hand, arm or shirt during a confrontation is liable to be shown a red card. It doesn’t apply to players who cover their mouths during non-confrontational conversations, such as friendly exchanges with club teammates representing opposing sides.
Earlier in the tournament, Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron was sent off for a similar offence during a group-stage match against Turkiye.
WATCH Ecuador’s Piero Hincapie sent off against Mexico HERE…
Piero Hincapié se pasó de pendejazoooo tapándose la boca JAJAJAJAJAJAJA. A chingar su rebomba madre ecuatorianos. pic.twitter.com/AcPS5eBf5J
— Humor_y_Farandula (@HumoryFarandula) July 1, 2026
Meanwhile, Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez scored within a nine-minute span in the first half and Mexico defeated Ecuador 2-0 on Tuesday night to end a four-decade long streak of losing knockout matches. Quinones opened the scoring for the co-hosts in the 22nd minute and Jimenez added a goal in the 31st for the Mexicans. The home team had not won a knockout-stage match since defeating Bulgaria in the round of 16 when they hosted the tournament in 1986.
“It means a lot to me because I am one of those who could not progress in the knockout stage. We are in the round of 16 and it is happening a great connection with the fans. We are like a family. It is spectacular,” Mexico coach Javier Aguirre, who was part of the team in 1986 when they beat Bulgaria, said.
Mexico lost seven consecutive times at that same stage from 1994 to 2018 and didn’t advance past the group stages in 2022. “We will be on high alert from here until Sunday. We will try to have the players recover from this and we will see if we are able to win again,” Aguirre said.
It was a third goal in the FIFA World Cup 2026 for Quinonesm, which makes him El Tri’s second-highest scorer in World Cup history behind Luis Hernandez and Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez, who scored four each. Quinones, who was the scoring leader in the Saudi Pro League last season as well.
“I am just happy with the result, that is all that matters now,” said Quinones quoted by AP news agency.
Jimenez scored his second goal of the tournament and has 47 with the national team to break a tie with Jared Borgetti. He is five away from tying ‘Chicharito’ as the all-time leading scorer for Mexico. Mexico will play another home match on Sunday against the winner of Wednesday’s match between England and DR Congo.
