Guillermo Ochoa appeared at a record sixth World Cup and 17-year-old Gilberto Mora shone as the youngest player to start in the competition for 24 years as co-hosts Mexico eliminated Czech Republic with a third consecutive win in Group A.
Mexico were already through as group winners after beating South Africa and South Korea but continued the feel-good factor thanks to second-half goals from Mateo Chavez, Julian Quinones and Alvaro Fidalgo in a party atmosphere at the Azteca Stadium.
It was a night of celebration for Mexico, who could potentially meet England in the last 16, and featured an historic substitute appearance from 40-year-old Ochoa, who joined Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in featuring at a record sixth World Cup.
Ochoa’s long kick upfield led to Mexico’s late third and a player at the opposite end of his career, in Mora, had a hand in their second when his through-ball released Jorge Sanchez in the build-up. At 17 years and 101 days, he became the youngest player to start a World Cup game since Nigeria’s Femi Opabunmi against England in 2002.
As Mexico celebrated, Czech Republic bowed out of the tournament tamely, mustering only one shot on target on the night. Their misery was compounded by a potentially serious injury to West Ham’s Tomas Soucek, who had to be helped off after jarring his knee.
The key moments from Mexico City…
- 8: SHOT! Visinsky drags a low shot just wide for Czech Republic
- 39: OVER! Alvarado spoons Mexico’s best chance of first half over
- 55: GOAL! Chavez breaks the deadlock with a cool finish
- 61: GOAL! Quinones adds second after good work from Mora
- 72: Mora is applauded off by the Mexico fans as he is substituted
- 78: Ochoa receives huge ovation as he’s sent on as a substitute
- 90+4: GOAL! Fidalgo adds late third to spark more celebrations
What the result means…
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
