Forty years is a long time to wait for anything. For Mexico’s national football team, it was the exact length of their knockout-stage drought at the FIFA World Cup, a curse that finally ended on June 30, 2026, when El Tri dispatched Ecuador 2-0 in the round of 32 at the iconic Estadio Azteca.

The last time Mexico won a World Cup knockout game, that victory came on June 15, 1986, against Bulgaria.

How Mexico finally broke the curse

Julián Quiñones opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. Raúl Jiménez added the insurance goal to seal the 2-0 result and send Ecuador packing.

Ecuador’s task went from difficult to impossible when defender Piero Hincapié was shown a red card in the second half.

Mexico had accumulated an eight-match knockout elimination streak heading into this tournament. That’s the longest such streak in World Cup history. Eight consecutive times, El Tri reached the knockout rounds only to be sent home.

A flawless group stage set the table

Mexico finished the group stage unbeaten with three wins and without conceding a single goal. The tournament structure matters here too. The 2026 World Cup expanded to 48 teams for the first time, which introduced a round of 32 before the traditional round of 16. Mexico used it as an opportunity to build momentum: four matches played, four wins, zero goals conceded.

Co-hosting the tournament with the United States and Canada gave Mexico a tangible home-field advantage. Playing at the Estadio Azteca, a venue that sits at 7,200 feet above sea level and has hosted two World Cup finals, is never easy for visiting teams.