DOHA, Qatar — For 2 1/2 games Mexico did nothing in Qatar — as in no goals, no wins and no chance to advance to the Round of 16, something it had done in every World Cup it has played in since 1978.
Then in the second half of Wednesday's group-play finale, El Tri finally came alive, with Henry Martín and Luis Chávez scoring goals six minutes apart in a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia that very nearly earned it a spot in the next round.
Instead, it was sent home on a tiebreaker.
