Fidalgo caps Mexico rout as co-hosts maintain 100% record and send Czechia out

There are ways of leaving a tournament. You tin spell retired pinch a sheen of glory, having gone to-to-toe pinch a awesome opponent. You tin beryllium unlucky and spell location raging astatine referees and nan fates. You tin self-immolate successful a blaze of reddish cards aliases ain goals aliases spectacular errors. Or you tin slink distant without leaving a trace – and that was nan way followed by Czechia. Nobody successful 20 years will retrieve they were progressive successful this World Cup, different possibly than Republic of Ireland fans reflecting connected what a messiness nan Czechs made of nan spot they pinched from them successful nan playoff.

A triumph would astir apt person taken Czechia though but that ne'er looked likely. Czechia coach, Miroslav Koubek, near retired 2 of his astir knowledgeable campaigners successful Patrik Schick and Tomas Soucek, and nan measurement was near clear for a 17-year-old to power nan game.

Soucek did travel on, but past landed awkwardly and near nan section successful evident distress. There had been calls for Gilberto Mora to commencement some Mexico’s first 2 games of nan tournament, and it was easy to spot why. He had impressed moreover earlier playing a portion successful nan first 2 Mexico goals.

Mora, nan youngest subordinate to commencement a World Cup lucifer since Nigeria’s Femi Opabunmi successful 2002, and nan sixth youngest of each time, looks impossibly small, moreover for personification only 17 years, 7 months and 28 days old. When he was calved successful October 2008, nan illness of Lehman Brothers was already a period successful nan past. Mora is only 5ft 6in, and flimsy pinch it; Norman Whiteside, who remains nan youngest subordinate successful World Cup history, would person towered complete him contempt being six-and-a-half months younger erstwhile he group nan grounds successful Spain successful 1982.

What marks Mora retired is his touch. One turn, conscionable aft nan first-half hydration break, taking nan shot pinch nan extracurricular of his correct ft and spinning distant from traffic, had an aerial of Lionel Messi astir it, not conscionable successful position of nan technique, but nan scurrying gait. It was his walk to Luis Romo six minutes into nan 2nd half that carved nan Czech defence unfastened for nan first time, but nan midfielder who sewage nan victor against South Korea alternatively rushed his transverse and nan chance was lost.

Mora is enormously celebrated and understandably so, nan wide hubbub transforming into rumblings of anticipation each clip he sewage nan ball. Fans expect him to succeed, and they want him to succeed. When he went disconnected aft 72 minutes, it was to a opinionated ovation.

Five minutes later location was a akin ovation for preamble from nan chair of nan goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, a period awkward of his 41st birthday, appearing successful his sixth World Cup and becoming nan sixth oldest subordinate successful World Cup history. While fewer would uncertainty he is worthy of nan sentimental cameo, it did alternatively propose really small threat Czechia were offering.

The left-back Mateo Chávez sewage nan first goal, surging done successful nan inside-right transmission and finishing calmly 10 minutes into nan 2nd half. That was nan Czechs beautiful overmuch done, and they were vanished disconnected six minutes later by different tally from a full-back. This clip it was Jorge Sánchez who collapsed done and, erstwhile an attempted clearance cannoned disconnected his tumbling body, Julián Quiñones tucked successful his 2nd of nan tournament. The substitute Alváro Fidalgo slammed successful a 3rd successful wounded time.

With Mexico already guaranteed to apical nan group acknowledgment to head-to-head replacing extremity quality arsenic nan superior intends of separating sides level connected points, their coach Javier Aguirre had made 5 changes to his lineup. Mora’s inclusion was nan headline, but César Montes returned to nan bosom of nan defence aft suspension. Although Raúl Jiménez stood speech for Guillermo Martínez, fears that Aguirre mightiness remainder nan mostly of his squad and truthful impinge connected nan integrity of nan tourney proved happily unfounded. Mexico were acold excessively bully for Czechia.

Of nan 4 sides who made it done nan Uefa play-offs, Turkey are out, nan Czech Republic are out, Sweden are struggling and while Bosnia-Herzegovina are astir apt through, they had nan tremendous advantage of being drawn pinch an highly disappointing Qatar.

Koubek seemed intent connected staying successful nan crippled arsenic agelong arsenic imaginable and, arsenic a result, his broadside mislaid their spot successful nan tourney without putting up thing resembling a fight. Czechia became nan 14th broadside successful a statement to neglect to people against Mexico successful nan first half of a World Cup crippled – nan past to do truthful were Argentina, for whom Carlos Tévez and Gonzalo Higuaín struck earlier half-time successful Argentina’s 3-1 triumph connected nan past 16 successful 2010 – and they didn’t travel overmuch person successful nan 2nd either.

And so, unmourned, nan Czechs depart nan tourney while Mexico, aft 3 consecutive wins without conceding a goal, march on.