During the night of the past Tuesday June 30the selection of Mexico defeated its counterpart 2-0 Ecuador in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup and advanced to the round of 16, where they will face the team of England at the Mexico City stadium next Sunday, July 5in front of 87 thousand spectators.
After being eliminated in the Qatar 2022 group stageMexico returned to the instance in which it has been eliminated in seven of his last nine participations, because the Tricolor did not compete in the qualifying rounds for the World Cup of Italy 1990 after being suspended by the International Association Football Federation (FIFA).
For its part, although England advanced to the round of 16 in its last two participations, in the 2018 and the 2022this crossing represents the historic return of the Three Lions to the Mexico City stadium, four decades after their elimination in the 1986 quarterfinals, when Diego Maradona He became immortalized with Argentina.
Likewise, the technical director of England, the German Thomas Tucheland the English captain, Harry Kaneexpressed their I respect for the match against Tricolor and they highlighted that playing in front of more than 86 thousand local fans and dealing with more than 2 thousand 200 meters altitude of Mexico City will be a physical challenge for the European team.
Mexico in the quarterfinals
Mexico 1970
In the World Cup Mexico 1970the first World Cup held in Mexican territory, Tricolor finished in second position in Group 1, with five points, after defeating 4-0 El Salvador and 1-0 to Belgiumand draw 0-0 with the Soviet Unionwho finished as leader for having scored one more goal than El Tri in the group stage.
At the same time, since only 16 selections, there were no round of 32 or round of 16, so the Mexican team qualified for the quarterfinals for the first time in its fourth match, in which it was beaten by the team of Italywho beat Tricolor 4-1 at the Luis Dosal stadium, located in Toluca de Lerdo.
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Mexico 1986
Sixteen years later, the World Cup returned to Mexico in 1986where the Tricolor finished in the top from Group B, after drawing 1-1 with Paraguay and beat 2-1 Belgium and 1-0 to Iraq. However, since in that edition they already participated 24 selectionsthe host team did have to play its round of 16 game.
Despite that, Mexico defeated 2-0 Bulgaria in the round of 16 and qualified for the quarterfinals by second time in his history, an instance in which he faced Germanywhich surpassed the Tricolor in the penalty shootoutafter the Mexicans Fernando Quirarte and Raúl Servín Monetti failed their shots in Monterrey, Nuevo León.
Mexico 2026?
Four decades later, the World Cup returned to Mexico, although this time the venue was shared with Canada and the United States. In any case, the Tricolor will play its first five games on Mexican soil—four in Mexico City and one in Jalisco—, with the delusion to return to the quarterfinals third time.
In front of you will be the selection of Englandwhich he has only faced once in the history of the World Cups, in the group stage of the World Cup 1966with a 2-0 victory for the English, who on that occasion were the hosts and played their first matches at Wembley Stadium, located in Londonits capital.
4️⃣ out of 4️⃣, Unconditional.#SomosMexico and we are leaving everything on the field. 😤
Veeeenga! 💪 pic.twitter.com/erN7i9OLIM
— National Team (@miseleccionmx) July 1, 2026