Mexico march into World Cup knockout stage and football royalty Ochoa gets fairytale moment

2026 World Cup

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Match Events:

55' MEXICO Goal! M. Chávez scores with left footed shot from the center of the box. Assist from L. Romo.

61' MEXICO Goal! J. Quiñones scores with right footed shot from the center of the box. Assist from J. Sánchez.

64' MEX, Yellow card given to E. Álvarez for a foul.

87' CZE Injury, T. Souček is forced to leave the match due to injury, replaced by A. Sojka.

90'+4' MEXICO Goal! Á. Fidalgo scores with right footed shot from the center of the box. Assist from R. Alvarado.

FT Czech 0-3 Mexico

Match Report:

Mexico’s legendary 40-year-old goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa played the final 12 minutes of their 3-0 win against Czech Republic as they advanced to the knockout stage with three wins from three.

The victory against Czech Republic secured top spot in Group A and means that Javier Aguirre’s team will be back in Mexico City to face a third-placed side from Groups C, E, F, H or I on June 30.

The match was soured by homophobic chanting from the Mexico supporters in the first half but there was no action taken at the time by the referee.

The home side took the lead through Mateo Chavez Garcia in the 55th minute, when the 22-year-old left-back popped up on the right wing and then curled a shot beyond the Czech goalkeeper Matej Kovar. Julian Quinones, their hero in the opening-day win against South Africa, then doubled their lead from close range, before Alvaro Fidalgo made it 3-0 late on.

Raul Angel was substituted in the 78th minute for Ochoa to make his 154th appearance for Mexico, having been part of six World Cup squads for his country.

Mexico are joined in the knockout stage by South Africa, who will face Canada in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 28. South Korea, losers to South Africa in the night’s other game, have a slim chance of advancing as one of the best third-placed teams.

Line-ups

Czech XI: Vladimír Coufal, Tomas Holes, Michal Sadílek, Ladislav Krejčí, David Doudera, Kovar, Robin Hranac, Pavel Sulc, Adam Hlozek, Denis Visinsky, Lukas Cerv

Subs: Darida, Jaroslav Zelený, Tomas Chory, Schick, Jindrich Stanek, Lukas Provod, Soucek, Jan Kuchta, David Zima, Lukas Hornicek, Mojmír Chytil, Stepan Chaloupek, Alexandr Sojka, Hugo Sochurek

Mexico XI: Guillermo Martínez, Roberto Alvarado, César Montes, Julián Quiñones, Jorge Sánchez, Alvarez, Luis Romo, Israel Reyes, Raúl Rangel, Mateo Chávez, Gilberto Mora

Subs: G. Ochoa, Jimenez, Orbelín Pineda, Luis Chávez, J. Gallardo, Álvaro Fidalgo, Alexis Vega, Carlos Acevedo, César Huerta, Santiago Gimenez, Johan Vásquez, Érik Lira, Brian Gutiérrez, Armando González, Obed Vargas