Mexico finishes undefeated in Group A with victory over Czechia

Mexico completed a perfect Group Stage, Guillermo Ochoa honored late on.

MEXICO CITY – The FIFA World Cup 2026 continued as Mexico earned a 3-0 win against Czechia in Group A on Wednesday at Mexico City Stadium in Mexico City, Mexico.

Mateo Chávez scored the opening goal in the 55’ with a left-footed strike in the box to conclude a lengthy sprint from the halfway line. Luis Romo delivered the assist after surviving pressure from three Czech players inside the center circle.

Julián Quiñones extended Mexico’s lead in the 61’ with a right-footed touch inside the six-yard box to collect his second goal of the tournament.

Guillermo Ochoa came on in the 78’ for his swan song on his sixth FIFA World Cup squad. The legendary goalkeeper sported the captain’s armband in the final minutes and helped construct the third goal of the match.

Álvaro Fidalgo added the exclamation point with a right-footed rocket from the top of the box in the 90’+3’, putting the bow on an undefeated Group Stage performance for Mexico with a 3-0-0 record.

Raúl Rangel and Guillermo Ochoa shared the clean sheet as Mexico continued a streak of zero goals conceded to start the tournament.

Mexico will return to Mexico City Stadium on Tuesday to face a third-place team to be determined in the Round of 32.

Mexico vs Czech Republic – Post-Match Facts

• Mexico completed the FIFA World Cup group stage without conceding a goal for only the second time in its history. The first came at Mexico 1970, when El Tri also hosted the tournament.
• El Tri extended its winning streak to four consecutive FIFA World Cup matches, the longest in the nation's history.
• Mexico collected 100% of the available points in a FIFA World Cup group stage for the first time in its history.
• Mexico’s starting lineup had an average age of 27 years and 37 days, its youngest at a FIFA World Cup since 2006, when its starting XI averaged 26 years and 341 days in the 2-1 defeat to Portugal.
• This was only the second time Mexico made at least five changes to its starting lineup from one FIFA World Cup match to the next. The previous occasion came between its second and third matches at Argentina 1978, when El Tri made six changes before falling 3-1 to Poland.
• At 17 years and 253 days old, Gilberto Mora became the youngest player to start a FIFA World Cup match for Mexico since at least 1954. He is also the youngest player to start any FIFA World Cup match since Nigeria’s Femi Opabunmi (17 years and 101 days) against England in 2002.
• Mexico has now gone 14 consecutive FIFA World Cup matches without conceding a first-half goal, a streak dating back to the start of Brazil 2014. The only longer run in tournament history belongs to England, which recorded 19 straight World Cup matches without allowing a first-half goal between 1982 and 1998.
• Mexico completed 13 line-breaking passes in the final third during the first half, more than double the Czech Republic’s total of five.
• Mateo Chávez became Mexico’s youngest FIFA World Cup goalscorer since Javier Hernández in 2010. Chávez scored at 22 years and 41 days old, while Hernández was 22 years and 26 days old when he scored against Argentina.
• Mexico’s last 12 FIFA World Cup goals have been scored by 11 different players, highlighting the team's attacking depth.
• At 40 years and 346 days old, Guillermo Ochoa became the oldest player ever to appear for Mexico in a FIFA World Cup match, surpassing Rafael Márquez, who played against Brazil in 2018 at 39 years and 139 days.
• Ochoa also became the seventh player aged 40 or older to appear at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Remarkably, only seven players aged 40 or above had appeared across the first 22 editions of the tournament.
• Julián Quiñones scored his second goal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The last Mexican player to score twice in a single World Cup edition was Javier Hernández at South Africa 2010. Only Luis Hernández, with four goals at France 1998, has scored more for Mexico in a single FIFA World Cup.