Magical Mexico march through to FIFA World Cup Round of 16

The co-hosts continued to rule the roost at fortress Azteca, where they are ten matches unbeaten at the global showpiece.

The match was delayed for an hour due to a storm but it only served to wind up the Mexican crowd, who were in full crescendo at kickoff.

From the outset, Mexico's attack was too hot to handle. Gilberto Mora had two chances, then Raul Jiminez's header went just wide. But they found their mark in the 22nd minute via Julian Quinones. The forward blazed down the left channel before cutting inside and unleashing his thundering right boot into the top corner, the best of his three goals at the tournament.

Nine minutes later, Jiminez double Mexico's lead. The hosts hight press earned them another goal as Ecuador failed to clear annd they pounced, with Quinones exchanging possession with Jiminez, who swerved the ball away from Ecuador stopper Hernan Galindez.

The second stanza saw Mexico blunt their attack in favour of stout defence, drying up any forward movement from a frustrated Ecuador.

Golakeeper Galindez kept it 2-0 on the hour mark when he executed a fine save to thwart Cesar Montes' powerful header.

With the pressure mounting, the increasingly animated Ecuador players finally drew the ire of the officials. Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie earned a red card for covering his mouth in a confrontational manner in stoppage time to bring the curtain down on the entertaining affair.