Mexico deliver at Azteca: Quinones and Jimenez send El Tri into the Round of 16 after storm delay

Mexico are through. After a thunderstorm delay that pushed kickoff at Estadio Azteca back by more than an hour, El Tri delivered exactly what the host nation needed: a composed, professional 2-0 victory over Ecuador that sends them into the Round of 16 for the first time on home soil since 1986. Julián Quiñones opened the scoring early in the first half and Raúl Jiménez added the second to put the tie beyond doubt. Mexico will next face the winner of England against DR Congo. For all the latest, follow the football news.

The weather nearly stole the occasion. Lightning and torrential rain hammered Mexico City for much of the evening, forcing FIFA to invoke its storm protocol and delay the match while tens of thousands of supporters waited inside Azteca. When the whistle finally sounded, the noise the stadium produced suggested no patience had been lost. The crowd was electric from the first minute, and Mexico responded to that energy with exactly the performance the moment demanded.

Quiñones got the breakthrough early, giving Mexico the lead they needed to settle their nerves and silence any lingering questions about whether the hosts could handle the weight of expectation in a knockout match at home. The goal came from good combination play and a finish that displayed the kind of confidence a player carries when an entire country is behind him. Ecuador, who had scraped through the group stage after a difficult campaign, were unable to match Mexico's intensity or their organisation, and found themselves chasing a game they were never quite close enough to win.

Jiménez sealed it with Mexico's second, confirming the margin and allowing the crowd to exhale and celebrate what they had come to see. The Atletico Madrid striker, who has been one of Mexico's most important forwards for the better part of a decade, scored a goal that will be replayed on highlight reels in this country for years. Azteca, the most famous stadium in Mexican football history, erupting for a World Cup knockout win, with the player who has been carrying Mexican football on his shoulders delivering in that moment.

Mexico have carried a psychological weight into every World Cup for forty years: the quinto partido, the fifth match, the quarter-final they have never reached. They will not worry about that tonight. Tonight they beat Ecuador 2-0 on home soil, in their stadium, in front of their people, in weather that tested everything before the first ball was kicked. The Round of 16 awaits. The question of whether this generation can finally go further than their predecessors is still alive. For all the World Cup updates as the Round of 16 takes shape, follow the football news.