WED, jULY 1, AT 6:30 aM
Mexico City, June 29: Host nation Mexico will look to continue their flawless FIFA World Cup campaign when they take on Ecuador in the Round of 32 at the Mexico City Stadium on Wednesday.
Javier Aguirre’s men have been among the tournament’s standout performers, cruising through Group A with three wins from three while keeping clean sheets in every match. El Tri finished with maximum points after victories over South Africa (2-0), South Korea (1-0) and Czech Republic (3-0), scoring six goals without conceding.
Playing in front of more than 80,000 passionate home supporters, Mexico have turned their home ground into a fortress. Aguirre’s side are unbeaten in their last nine World Cup matches at the venue, and the experienced coach will hope to extend that impressive record as the knockout phase begins.
Ecuador, however, head into the contest buoyed by one of the biggest upsets of the group stage.
After opening with a defeat to Ivory Coast and being held to a goalless draw by Curacao, Sebastian Beccacece’s side kept their World Cup dream alive with a stunning 2-1 comeback victory over group winners Germany.Leroy Sane had given Germany an early lead before Nilson Angulo restored parity and Gonzalo Plata netted the decisive winner to send Ecuador into the knockout rounds as one of the tournament’s best third-placed teams.
It is only the second time Ecuador have progressed beyond the World Cup group stage, matching their achievement in 2006.History favours Mexico, who have won 17 of the 28 previous meetings between the two nations, with Ecuador managing four victories and seven matches ending in draws.(AP)
