FIFA World Cup: Mexico reached knockout after defeating Czech Republic, Ochoa made a record by playing 6 World Cups

By Samira Vishwas On Jun 25, 2026

Mexico City: Mexico’s national team has set a new record in the Football World Cup. Mexico defeated the Czech Republic 3-0 thanks to brilliant performances from Mateo Chavez and Julian Quinones. With this resounding victory, Mexico has achieved the distinction of winning all three of its World Cup group stage matches for the first time in history. Although the Mexican team had already sealed its ticket to the knockout stage, it did not let its winning streak stop. On the other hand, the journey of the Czech Republic team, which was able to score only one point in the tournament, has ended here.

6 minute storm in the second half

Both the teams could not score any goals in the first half of the match, but at the beginning of the second half, Mexico turned the tide of the match within just six minutes:

– First goal (55th minute): 22-year-old young player Mateo Chavez, playing his first World Cup, opened Mexico’s account by scoring a goal in the 55th minute.

– Second goal (61st minute): Exactly 6 minutes later, Julian Quinones scored his second individual goal of the tournament by putting the ball in the net and increasing the lead to 2-0.

– Third goal (injury time): In the final moments of the match (injury time), Alvaro Fidalgo scored another excellent goal and sealed the Czech Republic’s defeat by 3–0.

Better performance than Aguirre’s era

This time Mexico has left behind its previous best record. Earlier, the team’s best performance in the group stage was two wins and one draw, which they achieved in the 1986 and 2002 World Cups. Interestingly, Javier Aguirre was part of the team on both those historic occasions—as a midfielder in 1986 and as head coach in 2002.

Mora and Memo Ochoa made special records

The match provided a unique glimpse into the emerging future and glorious past of Mexican football:

player name	Age	New record created
gilberto mora	17 years	Became Mexico’s youngest player to make it to the starting XI of the World Cup
Guillermo ‘Memo’ Ochoa	40 years	As soon as he entered the field in the 77th minute, he joined the club of selected legends of the world (Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo) who have played 6 World Cups.

next round challenge

The Mexican team, which has become the topper of Group A, will now play the round-of-32 knockout match at the prestigious Azteca Stadium on Tuesday. However, which team they will face in this knockout match is yet to be decided.

Also read: Historic moment for South Africa! Team reached World Cup knockout for the first time after defeating South Korea 1-0