Mexico defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 on Wednesday in Qatar, but the team was still eliminated from the FIFA World Cup.
El Tri ended the group stage with four points after tying, losing, and winning its three games.
Although Poland also finished with four points, it had a better goal differential than Mexico, which allowed it to finish in second place in Group C behind Argentina and move on to the tournament’s knockout round.
Mexico dominated Saudi Arabia at Lusail Stadium north of Doha, scoring twice in the second half to give fans of El Tri hope that their team would advance to the round of 16.
La Selección Mexicana eventually fell short of scoring a third goal, which would have given it a chance to overtake Poland for second place in Group C.
A late goal from Saudi Arabia halted Mexico’s 2022 World Cup campaign.
El Tri had multiple chances to score in the first half, but they could not do so.
Just after the interval, in the 47th minute, forward Henry Martin scored the team’s first goal when a deflected corner ball found his left boot. In the 52nd minute, a free kick by Luis Chávez led to Mexico’s second goal.
The Saudi goalkeeper’s outstretched arms couldn’t stop the 26-year-old Jalisco native’s powerful strike from outside the 18-yard box from going into the top right corner of the goal.
El Tri had over 40 minutes remaining when it appeared likely to keep scoring goals, but it missed several other excellent chances. In the 73rd minute, Chávez took another potent free kick near to giving him a second goal, but this time goalkeeper Mohammed Alowais could make a save by diving high to his right.
If Mexico had held onto its 2-0 advantage, it would have finished its three group games with a goal differential of 0. However, Salem Aldawasari’s late goal reduced Mexico’s goal differential to -1, while Poland’s was 0.
Mexico failed to go past the group stage of a World Cup it participated in for the first time since 1978. El Tri struggled in the round of 16 at the seven World Cups contested between 1994 and 2018, but it advanced to the quarterfinals in Mexico ’86. In 1982 and 1990, Mexico sat out of the World Cup.
El Tri’s failure to earn more than a single point from its first two games, much alone score a goal, at Qatar 2022, the first World Cup to be held in the Arab World, ultimately contributed to its demise.
