FIFA WC 2026: Mexico cruise past Czechia to finish Group A with perfect record

Mexico sealed their place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 in style, cruising to a 3-0 victory over Czechia at the Mexico City Stadium to complete a perfect group-stage campaign with three wins from three matches.

Goals from Mateo Chavez, Julian Quinones and Alvaro Fidalgo, along with a milestone appearance from veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, capped another memorable night for the co-hosts, who finished top of Group A without conceding a single goal.

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While Mexico had already secured qualification before kick-off, Czechia needed a positive result to keep their knockout hopes alive. Instead, the defeat brought their World Cup campaign to an end.

The result marked a historic achievement for El Tri, who won all three of their group-stage matches at a World Cup for the first time. It was also the first time since 1970 that Mexico completed the group stage without conceding a goal.

Czechia made the brighter start and looked dangerous early on, with Denis Visinsky narrowly missing the target in the eighth minute after a lively opening spell.

Mexico gradually took control and broke the deadlock midway through the first half. Raul Jimenez slipped a clever pass into the path of Mateo Chavez, who burst beyond his marker before calmly finishing to send the home crowd into celebration.

The hosts doubled their lead just six minutes later. Jorge Sanchez was denied by goalkeeper Matej Kovar after racing through on goal, but a poor Czech clearance fell kindly to Julian Quinones, who made no mistake from close range.

Mexico continued to dominate after the break. Chavez again used his pace to get in behind the defence before finishing confidently, while Quinones added another close-range effort moments later as the hosts tightened their grip on the contest, FIFA reported.

The celebrations reached another level in the 78th minute when legendary goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa was introduced from the bench. The appearance marked his 153rd cap for Mexico and saw him feature in his sixth FIFA World Cup.

There was still time for one final flourish. Deep into stoppage time, Santiago Gimenez surged forward and forced a save from Kovar, but the rebound fell to Alvaro Fidalgo, who rifled a powerful strike into the top-left corner to complete the scoring.

“I really think the most important thing is staying calm. The group has that mindset, along with humility. Above all, we’re a very hard-working team. We’re not satisfied with what we’ve done so far because we set these goals for ourselves,” Ochoa said.

“We’re taking it step by step, one match at a time. Right now, the next game is the most important one for us, and we hope to prepare in the best possible way to put in a good performance.”

With momentum firmly on their side, Mexico now head into the knockout stage brimming with confidence as they chase a deep run on home soil.