MEXICO CITY — Mexico had an enormous home-field advantage and an opportunity to make its deepest run in the World Cup, but El Tri let it slip away against heavyweight England on Sunday night.
Playing at altitude with the passionate backing of 80,824 fans at Estadio Azteca, and with a man advantage for most of the second half, Mexico scored twice but could never equalize and lost 3-2.
Mexico hadn't conceded a goal in its first four World Cup matches but had no answer for Jude Bellingham, who scored twice in a 98-second span in the first half.
"To dream and then fall like this hurts deeply, but the players should leave with their heads held high," coach Javier Aguirre said. "They gave it their all on the pitch, but it wasn't meant to be today. The fans had high hopes, and we couldn't get the job done and give them another night of joy."
While El Tri made a step forward from their group-stage exit in Qatar in 2022, the defeat leads a bitter taste for Mexico fans who were hoping to see their country's first quarterfinal appearance since 1986, when it last hosted the World Cup. Mexico has been eliminated in the round of 16 eight times since then.
Aguirre will step down after his third stint as Mexico's coach. Rafael Marquez, a former Barcelona defender, who was Aguirre's assistant at this World Cup, will replace him.
"These five matches are unforgettable. I am saying goodbye to the Estadio Azteca and leaving with great pride after so many years," Aguirre said. "Rafa is a great kid, a valuable coach and he is going to show it. Hopefully he is going to do it better than me."
It was Mexico's third competitive loss at Azteca, which opened in 1966, after a pair of 2-1 defeats in World Cup qualifiers, to Costa Rica in 2001 and to Honduras in 2013.
"I am sad, we had everything to win the match. (England) did not play well, they had five shots on goal and scored three," said Mexico fan Ramiro Caballero, a 44-year-old businessman. "It was the perfect scenario to take the next step and now we must wait for that victory."
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