Mexico 2-0 Ecuador: Quinones and Jimenez send co-hosts into last 16, Hincapie sees red

Mexico ended a 40-year World Cup knockout-round drought with a commanding 2-0 win over Ecuador at a storm-delayed Azteca Stadium. Kick-off was pushed back an hour by a severe thunderstorm sweeping Mexico City, but once underway the co-hosts exploded out of the blocks, overwhelming Ecuador with aggressive pressing and relentless energy in front of a crowd of 80,824.

Julian Quinones broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute, cutting inside in the box and powering a shot into the top corner. Nine minutes later, Quinones turned provider, combining in a give-and-go with Raul Jimenez after pouncing on an error from Joel Ordonez, and Jimenez rifled the ball into the corner to make it 2-0.

Ecuador never found a foothold in the match and created little going forward as Mexico controlled the second half. Their misery was compounded in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Piero Hincapie was shown a straight red card for covering his mouth during an altercation with Mexico substitute Santiago Gimenez.

The win marked Mexico's first World Cup knockout-stage victory since 1986, and sent the co-hosts through to face the winner of England vs Congo DR in the round of 16, also at the Azteca.