Jun 25, 2026 3:10 AM

Clinical finishing from Mateo Chávez and Julián Quiñones propelled El Trí to a perfect group record, while defensive lapses sealed a winless exit for the returning Czech side.

The Group A fixtures concluded with a convincing win for Mexico as they made it three out of three wins during the group stage.

Their knockout destiny was confirmed in the last game, with a 1-0 win over South Korea. Mexico now set their sights on the round of 32 fixture, which will take place on Wednesday next week.

For Czechia, they failed to improve on a poor first two games, in which they only registered one point. A draw against South Africa, which arguably should have been a win, was the only point Miroslav Koubek's side managed to pick up on their return from their 20-year absence.

Javier Aguirre will be pleased with his side's performance, as they cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win, and gave the home fans something to cheer about in an unimportant game for El Trí.

Quiñones' full-circle goal

Mexican fans had to wait 55 minutes for the opener tonight, but the patience shown by a disciplined Mexican attack paid off as Mateo Chávez opened his account for his national side.

The 22-year-old fullback made a darting run to latch onto an ambitious through ball by Lúis Romo, who impressed tonight, and the AZ Alkmaar player slotted a tidy finish home to draw first blood.

Fans didn't have to wait long for the second as Júlian Quiñones scored just six minutes later to record his second of the tournament.

A calamity from the Czechia defence was their demise, in which Matej Kovár and Tomas Holes both failed to clear a looming pass by Gilberto Mora. The Mexican winger promptly hit the ball home from six yards out, scoring his second since the opening goal of the World Cup against South Africa.

In a touching display, Aguirre decided to bring on goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in the 78th minute, as he made an appearance in his sixth World Cup. The 40-year-old veteran has been a hero for Mexico over the years, and his substitution was sentimental to say the least.

Álvaro Fidalgo rounded off a comfortable win in added time with his first goal for Mexico and sealed the fate of Czechia in the process. A powerful strike just inside the box was enough to beat Kovar, who was recovering from a save just seconds earlier.

Heading into the knockout rounds, Mexico has a lot ot look forward to. An experienced backbone of the squad is complemented by youthful players like Mora and Chávez, who have impressed in the group stage.

Czechia fails to make an impact

For Koubek and his team, it was the end of the road tonight, as they finished bottom of their group in their first World Cup since 1990. 

Having qualified dramatically through the playoff rounds, Czechia were expected to put up more of a fight, considering they were in a group without defined qualified teams.

The trend followed from previous fixtures. Fior spells Czechia looked comfortable in the match, and put pressure on Mexico, but this came to no avail.

Despite a solid low block for most of the game, the defence was still susceptible, and that was shown in the first goal when Chávez found space behind the defensive line.

An unconvincing claim from Kovar led to the second; somehow, Mora picked out a pass which gave Jorge Sanchez acres of space and put him through on goal, his shot was not cleared, which gave Quiñones a free shot.

The third was almost a replica of the second; a scrambling Czechia defence failed to keep out a barrage of shots from the Mexican attackers, and despite five players behind the ball, Fidalgo found space on the edge of the box to hit it home.

This game topped off an underwhelming tournament for Czechia; many had them down to qualify with ease, and they looked to be on the right path in the first match when they narrowly lost to South Korea.

But Koubek's team failed to bounce back from that opening loss, and a throwaway draw to South Africa in the second game was the tale of the tape for Czechia.

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