La Jornada: El Tricolor alcanza el quinto partido del Mundial Sub-20, Blog de Rafa Ramos: México Sub-20, la hazaña aún está detrás de otras emboscadas
At the end of the match, the Mexican team celebrated their passage to the quarterfinals after beating the hosts 4-1. Photo AFP
From the Editorial Staff
La Jornada Newspaper
Wednesday, October 8, 2025, p. a10
Mexico forgot how to defend from the moment Tahiel Jiménez, Santos’ striker in the Liga MX, scored the first goal. Only 26 minutes had passed since the start of the game. Although Chile was the host, the team coached by Eduardo Arce and led by Gilberto Mora made the match at the Elías Figueroa Stadium in Valparaíso seem like just a formality to advance to the quarterfinals of the U-20 World Cup, with a 4-1 rout included.
If for other generations the curse of the fifth match represented more defeats than joys, the younger ones defied its historical weight to turn it into an exclusive celebration. They had more than 18,000 spectators as witnesses, most of them locals, but with a minority carrying flags, charro hats, wrestler masks, and tricolor shirts scattered throughout the stadium. Their next opponent will be the winner of the series between Argentina and Nigeria, to be played this Wednesday in Santiago.
La Roja, which qualified second in the group based on disciplinary criteria—it accumulated fewer yellow cards than Egypt, which earned the same three points—couldn’t overcome the depth and quality of the Mexican squad. Nor could it resolve the rotation of center backs to stop Mora, a player who is doing things like adults even though he’s a 16-year-old teenager. The Tijuana midfielder assisted Jiménez for the 1-0 goal with a triangulation and maintained his main objective with a simple rule: the stronger the pressure, the greater his talent.
Defenders Felipe Faúndez, Ian Garguez, and Milovan Celis, all at least three years older than Mora, tried to stop attacks reaching goalkeeper Sebastián Ignacio Mella’s area with fouls. During the final 15 minutes of the first half, the plan paid off, as the one-goal deficit persisted until halftime. Upon their return, everything was back to normal. Mexico was as dangerous as the Chileans had hoped. They controlled the ball, encouraged their fans to feel like winners, and left no impression that their team was playing at a disadvantage as visitors.
Iker Fimbres, remembered in Monterrey for his debut goal in a Monterrey derby against Tigres (Apertura 2024), converted the 2-0 from outside the box, with a right-footed shot that hit Mella’s far post (67), ending Chile’s most anticipated night of the tournament. Desperation, combined with a series of errors and a lack of ideas, motivated the home side to play more aggressively. Mora suffered the initial consequences, but then Mexican coach Eduardo Arce decided to substitute him to prevent injury.
That move not only kept the Mexican star safe, but also paved the way for a rout. Jalisco native Hugo Camberos, one of Arce’s substitutions, took just seven minutes to score a brace (80th and 86th). Only La Roja captain Juan Francisco Rossel managed to salvage the hosts’ honor with the game-winning goal in the final stretch (88th). In addition to remaining undefeated in the Cup, the Mexican national team returned to the quarterfinals for the first time since South Korea in 2017.
“We played a complete game. We managed the moments, the tension, and made our plays in attack. It was extra motivation to eliminate the host. Are we favorites? This isn’t the time to label things; there are still very important nations competing,” said the Mexican coach after the match.