Mexican media has lamented the “most-painful Aztecazo” after its national side were knocked out of the World Cup by England.
England won a thrilling, chaotic game 3-2 on Sunday to reach the quarter-finals, and they did so in Mexico City, where Mexico’s record is formidable.
The result was just the third-ever loss for Mexico at the Azteca in a competitive game, dating back to the stadium’s opening in 1966.
That was famously the year England won the World Cup for the only time in their history, and now they take on Norway in pursuit of a place in this year’s semi-finals in North America – where Mexico have been co-hosts alongside the US and Canada, with no more games to be played on Mexican soil at this tournament.
ESPN Deportes said of the result: “The hopes of the Mexico City Stadium were dashed in the 101st minute. This time, the Mexican fans refused to give up, just like their national team. They didn’t abandon their own side until the very last minute, clinging to the dream that, for once, they could crush a powerhouse like England.
“The final score was 3-2 in favour of the Europeans, the most painful ‘Aztecazo’ of all. Once again, the [reality] of ‘we played like never before and lost as always’.”
Meanwhile, El Universal also led with the word “Aztecazo”, as did AS Mexico: “the definitive ‘Aztecazo’”.
“Mexico bowed out of the World Cup with their heads held high,” said El Universal. “[Goalkeeper] Guillermo Ochoa warned the day before: clinical finishing defines the powerhouses... And so it proved. Jude Bellingham served as a reminder with his brace.”
Indeed, the England midfielder struck twice in three minutes to put England 2-0 up in the first half, seemingly overwriting the dominant pre-match narrative about the altitude in Mexico City, but Julian Quinones quickly made it 2-1.
A Harry Kane penalty gave England a cushion in the second half after Jarell Quansah’s straight red card, before Raul Jimenez scored his own spot kick to give the Three Lions a long, nervy task in trying to hold on – which they did, for a 3-2 win.
“Possession, which favored the Mexican team, became a mere statistic,” El Universal continued. “[England] suffered from start to finish at the Azteca Stadium.”
“The ‘Game of the Century’ of the new era,” said AS. “Everything stopped going right for [Javier] Aguirre’s ‘Tri’, who succumbed, but not before pushing England to their human limits in a delirious and legendary match, a golden chapter in World Cup history.
“It couldn’t have happened anywhere else. The Azteca Stadium – more English than ever – by fate, climate, and crowd, witnessed England exorcise their ghosts from their cursed stadium.”
Next for England is Norway in the last eight, after Erling Haaland’s brace secured a 2-1 win over Brazil, for whom Neymar’s late penalty was nothing but a consolation in their own last-16 tie.
Meanwhile, Mexican hopes of reaching their first World Cup quarter-final since 1986 were dashed again.
