Mexico defeated Ecuador 2-0 in the round of 32 match, qualifying as a co-host nation to round of 16, extending a perfect record of four wins and zero goals conceded after the first four games. For Ecuador, it was the end of the road, for a team that was once considered a dark horse for the tournament, but only won one match of the four they played, against the already eliminated Germany.
However, for the Ecuador Football Federation, they have not had a fair tournament, and has filed a formal complaint against the World Cup organisers because of a concentration by Mexican fans before their hotel in the Santa Fe district in Mexico City, in the night before the match: car horns, chants that turned into insults, and fireworks late at night to prevent the players from sleeping soundly the night before the match.
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"This behavior is far removed from the principles of fair play, equity, and unity that a World Cup should represent", said the Federation in a statement, asking World Cup organisers in Mexico to "pay closer attention to these events and adopt the necessary measures to safeguard the integrity of our players, coaching staff, and fans."
El País points out that Mexican fans did not engage in this kind of behaviour before their previous matches, against South Africa, South Korea, or the Czech Republic. This was, of course, their first knockout match, but there's deeper significance because of poor institutional relationships between the countries.
Ecuador players didn't have much time to sleep and rest because of the flight and Mexican fans
But that wasn't the only hurdle Ecuador faced during the final hours at World Cup. Their flight on Monday, the day before the match, from Columbus, Ohio, to Mexico City, expected to be around three and a half hours, plus an hour and a half of transfer from airport to the hotel, ended up taking much longer. "We were more than three hours late; we were supposed to arrive at six in the evening, and that didn't happen. The transfer from the airport to the hotel ended up being like a nine-hour flight", complained Ecuador coach Sebastian Beccacece before the match. "The previous matches were always good. Everything had gone smoothly at every venue, but it hasn't been the same here."
We will never know if Ecuador had performed better if they were more rested, after the combination of a delayed flight + fireworks and noises and insults outside the hotel during the night. But now they are eliminated and Beccacece has left the team...