Mexico coach Javier Aguirre emphasises connection with fans as driving force for victory
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Mexico’s players celebrating after beating Ecuador 2-0 in the World Cup round of 32 at the Azteca on June 30, 2026.
PHOTO: AFP
MEXICO CITY – Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said it was the players’ connection with the fans that was driving their push to succeed at the World Cup, after the co-hosts qualified for the round of 16 on June 30.
Mexico’s 2-0 win over Ecuador at the Azteca Stadium was their fourth straight victory without a goal conceded at the tournament.
“This connection we have with the fans is a driving force,” Aguirre said at a press conference.
On June 30, the Azteca was once again overflowing, with just over 80,000 fans cheering on their team from start to finish and booing every time the opposing team touched the ball.
“I’ve had some great victories, but none like today’s because it’s at home, with your own people,” added Aguirre, who previously coached Mexico at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups.
“I am one of those that I was never able to play the fifth match. It happened to me in South Korea and it happened to me in South Africa.
“So you have a good group stage and then you get stuck and you cannot move forward... but today there was a huge communion with the people.”
In a supercharged atmosphere, Julian Quinones gave Mexico a deserved lead midway through the first half with a thunderous strike and then turned provider for Raul Jimenez.
Ecuador desperately needed to wrest back the momentum after the break but struggled to shift through the gears, with the home side remaining largely in control.
Piero Hincapie was sent off in stoppage time after covering his mouth during a confrontation with an opposition player to cap a miserable night for Ecuador.
Mexico had not won a World Cup knockout game since 1986, when they last hosted the tournament.
On July 5, Mexico will play in the round of 16 again in Mexico City against the winners of the match between England and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mexico are now unbeaten in 10 World Cup games at the Azteca.
Aguirre, 67, praised the Ecuadorean team, who finished second in the South American qualifiers with only two losses in 18 matches.
“It is not easy to beat Ecuador,” he said.
Aguirre was happy with Mexico’s performance, his only gripe being that they were unable to score more goals on the counter-attack to kill off the game.
His opposite number Sebastian Beccacece bid a heartfelt farewell as Ecuador coach following the defeat.
“Our contract ended with the World Cup. I don’t think we were able to achieve the feat we promised: to make this the best World Cup ever. Today it’s my turn to say goodbye,” he said.
Amid the jubilation in Mexico, three people died from suffocation as thousands of fans crowded Mexico City streets during World Cup celebrations, the capital’s health secretariat said in the early hours of July 1.
The deaths occurred near the Angel of Independence landmark, where thousands of fans had gathered to celebrate Mexico’s progress to the last 16. Emergency teams tended to three unconscious people at different locations around Paseo de la Reforma, the authorities said.
“After receiving advanced resuscitation efforts, the deaths of a 44-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman from suffocation have been confirmed,” the health authority initially said on social media.
The third fatality was a 48-year-old woman who was treated on a nearby street after suffering asphyxiation and died after being taken to hospital, the secretariat added in a later post. REUTERS, AFP
