Win vs. Saudis not enough, Mexico fails to advance
Henry Martin and Luis Chaves each scored in Mexico’s furious attempt to stay alive at the World Cup, but the 2-1 victory Wednesday night over Saudi Arabia was not enough.
Because of Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Poland in a simultaneous match, Mexico failed to advance out of its group for the first time since 1978.
Mexico had reached the round of 16 at the last seven World Cups, which was tied with Brazil for the longest current streak.
El Tri went into the match at Lusail Stadium needing both a victory and help from Poland playing across town against Argentina to advance in Group C. Argentina’s victory meant goal difference came into play, and Poland advanced on goal difference.
Martin scored in the 48th minute to give El Tri hope, and the team’s chances got even better with Luis Chavez’s goal on a free kick four minutes later.
Mexico tried desperately in the final 20 minutes to get another goal — including an effort by Uriel Antuna in the 87th minute that was ruled offside — but came up short.
Argentina 2, Poland 0
Lionel Mess had a penalty saved but Argentina still beat Poland second-half goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez and advanced to the last 16.
Argentina finished in first place in Group C to set up a match against Australia, a surprise qualifier for the knockout stage. It was ultimately a happy night for Poland, too, which went through as the group’s second-place team on goal difference ahead of Mexico and will next play defending champion France.
It’s a strong position for Argentina to be in, especially considering the team opened the World Cup with a shocking 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in one of biggest upsets in the tournament’s history.
The final whistle blew with Poland players still unsure if they were advancing, given the Mexico-saudi Arabia game was ongoing. A stoppage-time goal by the Saudis made it even harder for Mexico, sparking loud cheers by Poland’s team and the squirting of water from their bottles in the middle of the field.
Australia 1, Denmark 0
Australia advanced to the round of 16 at the World Cup, beating favored Denmark on Mathew Leckie’s 60th-minute goal.
It is Australia’s first time in the knockout stage since 2006, the only other time they advanced out of the group stage.
Leckie took a pass near the center circle and moved around a Danish defender before hitting a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel diving to his left.
The World Cup proved to be a major disappointment for Denmark after reaching the semifinals in the 2020 European Championship. They slogged through a 0-0 draw in their opening match with Tunisia and then recovered in a 2-1 loss against France.
Tunisia 1, France 0
Defending champion France won its World Cup group despite losing to Tunisia.
Wahbi Khazri scored in the 58th minute to give the Tunisians the victory, but it wasn’t enough to get them into the round of 16. Australia beat Denmark 1-0 in other Group D game and finished second on goal difference.
Khazri ran at the heart of the French defense and beat two players before poking the ball into the bottom corner.
It was Tunisia’s third victory at a World Cup, and it was France’s first loss at the tournament since the 2014 quarterfinals, when Germany beat the team 1-0.