In seven consecutive World Cups, from United States 1994 to Russia 2018, Mexico had reached the knockout levels after which misplaced exactly within the spherical of 16 — to Bulgaria (on penalties), Germany, the United States, Argentina, Argentina once more, the Netherlands and Brazil. Now their standard and astonishing journey contingent needed to digest an exit to which most weren’t accustomed, leaving frowns on seasoned faces and tears on youthful ones.
Argentina gained the group on six factors, with Mexico and Poland on 4 and next-door neighbor Saudi Arabia, which had made such a dent on this occasion with its opening upset of Argentina on this similar big Lusail Stadium, taking its noise again throughout the border with three deeply memorable factors.
Mexico started Wednesday night time on one level with a purpose differential of minus-2, whereas Poland started on 4 factors and plus-2. Halftimes of each concurrent video games, counting Poland-Argentina, stood goalless. Then Mexico — which had not scored all match because it drew, 0-0, with Poland and misplaced, 2-0, to Argentina — started producing marvel.
It scored off a nook within the forty seventh minute when Henry Martín maneuvered his approach between gamers and struck the ball together with his left foot, knocking it in and loosing bedlam particularly simply behind the purpose. Then it scored within the 52nd minute with a free kick of fairly some magnificence that curled its approach into the highest proper nook.
Now Mexico had a 2-0 lead with the noise someplace past stirring, and when Poland quickly fell right into a 2-0 deficit all the way down to the south at Stadium 974, Mexico and Poland stood even in factors (4) and purpose distinction (even), whereas Mexico had gotten seven yellow playing cards to Poland’s 5.
Mexico searched skillfully and frantically for that third purpose. Twice it put the ball within the web solely to see the offside flag go up, as soon as within the 56th minute when Hirving Lozano drilled in a single from behind any appropriate protection and as soon as within the 87th, inflicting a big however transient roar, when substitute Uriel Antuna additionally received behind all protection for a simple tap-in.
Mexico pushed and pushed, skying one over the purpose early in stoppage time, after which their probabilities collapsed with a uncommon Saudi counterattack. It wound up within the Mexico field with Hattan Bahebri feeding to Salem al-Dawsari, who slid it simply previous Guillermo Ochoa. The whistle blew two minutes later and Mexico, exhausted, had left the get together early, particularly for itself.