Jun 30, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Mexico midfielder Orbelin Pineda (17) controls the ball against Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo (23) during the first half] in the Copa America soccer tournament at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Ecuador reached the Copa America quarterfinals by earning a gritty and dramatic 0-0 draw against Mexico in the teams’ Group B finale on Sunday night in Glendale, Ariz.
Ecuador (1-1-1, 4 points) absorbed pressure throughout the evening to secure the second spot in the group above Mexico (1-1-1, 4 points) based on its superior goal differential. Ecuador finished with a goal differential of plus-one, while Mexico’s was even.
After eliminating Mexico, Ecuador will advance to face defending champion Argentina on Thursday in Houston in an attempt to reach its first semifinal since it hosted the event in 1993.
“We know it is an unmatched opponent and we know how tough it’s going to be,” Ecuador manager Felix Sanchez said through an interpreter. “But our players are happy that they moved to the next round, and we’ll see how that unfolds.”
Mexico thought it had earned a penalty deep into second-half stoppage time when referee Mario Escobar pointed to the spot after Felix Torres’ challenge on Guillermo Martinez.
But Escobar reversed his decision after a VAR review, where he saw replays showing that Torres made contact with the ball before Martinez tumbled to the ground.
Mexico, in its first Copa America since 2016, scored only once in its three group matches, an output that will increase the pressure on manager Jaime Lozano.
Already the program’s third manager in the past 18 months, Lozano also drew criticism when Mexico lost the 2024 CONCACAF Nations League final, 2-0, to the United States and dropped two friendlies heading into this tournament, including a 4-0 demolition by Uruguay.
“Whenever an objective is not met, there is certain discomfort and doubts, that’s only natural, no matter who’s here,” Lozano said. “But the players kept believing until the very end; that’s not easy. It’s not easy to play that strong union and the commitment that they showed … over the whole tournament. That decision (about my future) is not up to me.”
Mexico dominated the flow of play and had 19 shots against Ecuador’s nine, but it directed only three on target and none before halftime.
The most threatening sequences often occurred with Julian Quinones attacking down the left. Seconds after Luis Romo finally forced Ecuador goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez into his first save in the 65th minute, Quinones tried his own luck from distance.
Dominguez made a diving stop but pushed the rebound only as far as Mexico’s Santiago Gimenez, who directed a shot from a tight angle off the near post.
As Mexico continued to pressure, Ecuador began to threaten more from the counter. Enner Valencia’s dipping strike forced Julio Gonzalez’s uncertain save in the 68th minute, and he fired wide on the break in the 80th when he could’ve played a pass to a teammate to his right.
“We know that we still have a lot of work ahead of us to keep evolving,” Sanchez said of his team’s defensive-minded effort. “But this is Copa America, and we also need to understand the great progress we’ve made today, because we are moving to the next round.”
–Field Level Media
