Mexico had a dream group stage at the 2026 World Cup, winning all three group matches for the first time in its history.
Its reward? A tough contest against a South American rival that many experts expected to have a better World Cup performance than it did during the group stage.
Who will Mexico play in the round of 32?
El Tri will welcome Ecuador to the Estadio Azteca for the round of 32 match, with the winner staying in Mexico City for a round of 16 clash against the winner of England and a third-place finisher.
Ecuador was projected to be a potential dark horse in the tournament — and may still be. La Tri knocked off Germany on the final day of group play to bounce back from a defeat to Ivory Coast and shock draw with Curacao earlier in the tournament.
Mexico does hold the heavy edge over Ecuador in recent years, having avoided defeat in five of their last six meetings, including a draw when the teams squared off at the 2024 Copa América — though El Tri needed a goal to advance from the group in that match and couldn’t find one.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who will Mexico play in the round of 32? 2026 World Cup matchup is set
