Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Mexico are chasing their first knockout win since 1986 and their fans have packed the stadium despite the pregame storms.
Kickoff is set for 12pm AEST.
Mexico (4-1-2-3): 1. Raul Rangel (GK), 2. Jorge Sanchez, 3. Cesar Montes (c), 5. Johan Vasquez, 23. Jesus Gallardo; 6. Erik Lira, 7. Luis Romo, 19. Gilberto Mora; 9. Raul Jimenez, 16. Julian Quinones, 25. Roberto Alvardo.
Ecuador (4-2-3-1): 1. Hernan Galindez (GK); 3. Piero Hincapie, 4. Joel Ordonez, 6. Willian Pacho, 15. Pedro Vite, 21. Alan Francoc, 23. Moises Caicedo (c), 9. John Yeboah, 13. Enner Valencia, 19. Gonzalo Plata, 20. Nilson Angulo.
The round of 32 match between Mexico and Ecuador will now start at midday (AEST) instead of 11am due to a thunderstorm in the Mexico City Stadium area.
Mexico are aiming to qualify for the round of 16 and inch closer to equalling their best performances in the World Cup. They reached the quarter-finals, playing at home, in 1970 and 1986.
As we wait for an update on when the Mexico v Ecuador clash will begin in Mexico City following lightning near the stadium, Ecuador have reportedly made an official complaint about noise outside their hotel overnight.
The Athletic reported that the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) sent a complaint to FIFA after Mexican fans set up an impromptu street party outside their opponent’s hotel, which included loud music, dancing, horns, revving engines and even fireworks.
As experienced football fans will know, this is a regular occurrence for visiting teams throughout Latin America as the Socceroos found during their World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay in 1997 and 2001 – they also received crank calls to their hotel rooms and were intimidated at the airport when fans rocked their bus.
So you could argue Ecuador have got off pretty lightly.
There are some great videos on social media of fans joining the party.
The clash between Mexico and Ecuador in Mexico City has been delayed due to lightning in the area.
The game was meant to start at 11am AEST.
We’ve reported on the must-watch race for the Golden Boot at this tournament with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi setting the pace on six goals with Erling Haaland, five goals, staying in it after his Norway side progressed this morning.
Messi and Argentina are set to play their round of 32 match against Cape Verde on Saturday at 8am AEST.
Here is how the standings look after Mbappe scored twice for France today.
For those wondering about the all-time World Cup scoring record, Messi remains on top with 19 goals, Mbappe went up to 18 goals in the Sweden match.
New Jersey: France’s 1998 World Cup triumph was built on a special bond between coach Aime Jacquet and his on-field lieutenant Didier Deschamps.
Twenty-eight years later, Deschamps the coach has built a strikingly similar relationship with Kylian Mbappe, trusting his captain to carry the entire squad with him as Les Bleus chase another World Cup.
When Mbappe opened the scoring in France’s 3-0 victory over Sweden in the last 32 on Tuesday, he sprinted straight to the touchline and into the arms of Didier Deschamps, who had returned four days earlier after attending his mother’s funeral.
One by one, every France player followed, surrounding their coach in a spontaneous embrace that spoke volumes about the unity coursing through the squad.
Here is how the Round of 32 looks after France’s win over Sweden today.
Our last game for today will be Mexico vs Ecuador at 11am AEST.
Sweden coach Graham Potter believes this World Cup campaign is the start of something promising for his adopted nation despite their exit against France today.
Potter was disappointed his side conceded a goal just before half-time before France scored two more times for a 3-0 win.
But with young talent across the side and Potter signed until 2030, Sweden are confident they can be much stronger in the years to come – the likes of Lucas Bergvall, Anthony Elanga and Viktor Gyokeres have plenty of years ahead of them.
“We are disappointed to go out, we weren’t ready to go home, and we wanted more,” Potter said post-game.
“I’m so proud of this team. France will go through and they were the better team, but we had our chances and couldn’t take them.
“This is the start of something for us, but we are disappointed for now because we wanted to go on.”
