Mexico beat Czechia 3-0, and the Czech Republic national football team vs Mexico national football team standings now show a perfect Mexico record with Czechia out of the World Cup. The result ended Czechia’s campaign and kept Mexico’s run intact.
Mateo Chávez opened the scoring 10 minutes into the second half after surging through in the inside-right channel and finishing calmly. Six minutes later, Julián Quiñones tucked in Mexico’s second after Jorge Sánchez’s run, and Álvaro Fidalgo added the third in injury time.
Gilberto Mora draws the eye
Gilberto Mora started at 17 years, seven months and 28 days old and left after 72 minutes to a standing ovation. That made him the youngest player to start a World Cup match since Femi Opabunmi in 2002, and the sixth-youngest starter in World Cup history.
He also created a chance for Luis Romo six minutes into the second half, a sequence that came just before Mexico broke through. Javier Aguirre later called the match “the night of Memo Ochoa” and said it was “the most emotional moment” of his career.
Miroslav Koubek leaves out Schick and Soucek
Miroslav Koubek left Patrik Schick and Tomas Soucek out of the Czechia starting lineup, and the reshuffle never gave Czechia the control it needed. Soucek came on as a substitute and then left the field in obvious distress, while Czechia still trailed by the time Mexico finished the game off.
The scoreline also sat inside a bigger World Cup frame for Mexico. Guillermo Ochoa appeared in his sixth World Cup and became the sixth-oldest player in World Cup history, while Aguirre tied the match to his own past in 1986, when he was in the Mexico side that beat Iraq 1-0 at the Azteca to reach the knockout stage.
Czechia needed a win to stay in the fight, but Mexico denied them that route with the 3-0 result. For Czechia, the tournament ended without a foothold; for Mexico, the 100% record stayed perfect and the pressure of the final whistle fell entirely on the side that had to chase the game.
