close
close
news

Mexico 0-0 Ecuador Takeaways: Mexico eliminated, warnings about homophobic chants

Mexico needed to beat Ecuador in their final match in Group B to advance to the knockout stages of the Copa America, but all they could manage was a 0-0 draw. They almost found a lifeline in the dying seconds of added time when the referee initially awarded Mexico a penalty, but after reviewing video, the decision was overturned.

Mexico managed just one goal in 270 minutes in the group stage of a dismal tournament for the 2026 World Cup co-hosts. Towards the end of Sunday’s match, three announcements were also made over the public address system at State Farm Stadium, warning fans to stop the discriminatory chants. A statement warning that the referee had the right to stop the match if the homophobic insult continued was also shown on the big screen in Spanish.

go deeper

GO DEEPER

Mexico vs Ecuador threatened with strike over homophobic chants

And Ecuador’s price for holding back Mexico? A quarter-final with world champion Argentina in Houston on July 4.

Stuart James and Thom Harris assess the key talking points…


Will Argentina be worried about what they saw in this match?

Nerves? Maybe. Enough to worry Argentina? Absolutely not.

This was a must-win match for Mexico, and one that Ecuador would have preferred not to leave to chance, but for long stretches of a scrappy, testy match it seemed neither side really had what it took. Bad first touches, aimless long balls, slips, falls and fouls, a goalless 45 minute opening period in particular had it all.

A passage of play after half an hour summed it up, when Alan Franco needlessly bounced a pass from five yards onto Piero Hincapie’s chest. The left back had no choice but to control and shoot the ball wildly along the line. Two minutes later, Bayer Leverkusen’s usually impeccable central defender again took a long ball horribly out of play. When Ecuador reached the final third – as they did with Enner Valencia after 80 minutes – it was baffling decision-making that let them down.


Alexander Dominguez celebrates his quarter-final win over Ecuador (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Mexico weren’t bursting with ideas either, and although they noticeably upped the intensity in the second half as their need for a goal increased, their best chances came from set pieces, pinball in the penalty area and moments of individualism, rather than anything manufactured . in the locker room. A 96th-minute penalty, ultimately overturned by VAR, would have been the most dramatic escape card of the competition.

With the reigning world champion awaiting the next round, things need to be cleared up. Argentina have kept a clean sheet in seven of their last eight league games and will certainly not be broken without a more complicated plan.


Santi Gimenez’s goalless group stage

Lost causes. Santiago Gimenez spent a lot of time chasing them on another frustrating night for the Mexican striker, who leaves the Copa America without a goal to his name and extended his barren run for his country to 12 games.

It wasn’t for lack of trying. A header that skipped inches in the first half was followed by a right-footed shot that hit the outside of the post in the second period. In between, Gimenez kept running, looking for the long balls that Mexico hoped would bring some joy.

Mexico


(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

His big chance had come in the previous game, against Venezuela, and you wonder how things might have turned out differently for Gimenez had he been cleanly in front of goal in Los Angeles.

The 23-year-old, who has been productive in a Feyenoord shirt, has failed to transfer that form to international football. Inevitably, questions will be asked in Mexico about the decision to leave Henry Martin and Raul Jimenez, two experienced strikers, at home. But the quality of Mexico’s attacking play in general suggested that any striker here would struggle to make much of an impact.

go deeper

GO DEEPER

The curious case of Santiago Gimenez: wanted in Europe, but struggling at the Copa


What went wrong for Mexico?

The disappointment will continue for a while for Mexico, whose hopes of reaching the Copa America quarter-finals were predictably dashed.

Predictably, Mexico brought so little attacking threat, with their only tournament goal scored by left-back Gerardo Arteaga in an opening match against Jamaica that now seems a long time ago.

Defeat by Venezuela, when Orbelin Pineda missed a penalty, meant El Tri had to beat Ecuador to progress – an outcome that rarely looked likely in a match that exposed Mexico’s limitations. They huffed and puffed, but there was a glaring lack of quality.

Mexico failed to advance from the group stage in the 2011 and 2015 Copa America tournaments, but this latest setback will hurt. On the surface, Mexico had a decent draw, but they still couldn’t find a way past two CONMEBOL second-tier teams.

The spotlight will now be on Jaime Lozano, the coach who was assured he would stay until the end of the 2026 World Cup. Will elimination in the group stage lead to a rethink here?


Johan Vasquez discouraged after Mexico’s elimination is sealed (Chris Coduto/AFP via Getty Images)

What’s next for each team?

Argentina vs Ecuador — Thursday, July 4, 9:00 p.m. ET (NRG Stadium, Houston, TX)

Mexico is eliminated from the tournament.


What did the managers say?

Ecuadorian coach Felix Sanchez about the match against Argentina: “They are reigning world champions, Copa America champions, and they have the best players in the world, who play for the best clubs in the world. They have a solid group and have developed a clear idea under the same coach (Lionel Scaloni)… We have to play a perfect match, but we are going into it with motivation. It’s 11 against 11 and we’re going to do everything we can.”

Mexico coach Jaime Lozano on his future: “Every time you do not achieve your goals there will be doubts, but if the players believed until the end, it is for a reason, it is not easy to maintain that union, this circle and to create this commitment that they had seven weeks before and during this competition. There is a process and others will decide what happens next, but for me it is clear that we went out and were key players.

Lozano on what Mexico is missing: “We have become a lot better defensively, but now we have to find that balance and work on that patience, that last touch in the attacking third. We have learned a lot from these players in this tournament and it is an experience that will help us.”


Required reading

(Top photo: Chris Cuduto/AFP via Getty Images)

Related Articles

Back to top button