Two curveballs, a debt spanning forty years.

In the 22nd minute, Julián Quiñones took possession on the right side of the box. He cut inside, set himself, and curled a left-footed shot. The ball sailed over the shoulders of three Ecuadorian defenders and nestled into the far corner. Nine minutes later, Raúl Jiménez followed the same recipe from the top of the arc. He received the ball, adjusted, and curled his shot. The same arc, the same corner.

Ecuador's entire defense stood still twice, watching the ball. Aguirre's tactical board wasn't complicated: cut in from the right, shoot from the arc, aim for the far corner. Just those three steps. Ecuador's coaching staff took two slaps from the same script, and even after a 15-minute halftime break, they couldn't fix their homework.

Post-match stats show 57% possession for Ecuador. Shots were 15-7, with shots on target 3-1, all in Mexico's favor. The ball ping-ponged around at Ecuador's feet, but the number of times they truly threatened Mexico's goal could be counted on one hand. This is what it means to control the ball until your hands sweat, to treat possession like a prayer bead.

Zoom out. Four World Cup matches, three without a goal. The only time they scored was when they put two past Germany.

They lost 1-0 to Ivory Coast, with Amad Diallo scoring in the 90th minute. They drew 0-0 with Curaçao, whose goalkeeper Eloy Room made 15 saves, single-handedly stopping 3.08 expected goals. Curaçao, a Caribbean island nation with a population under 200,000, couldn't even fill one stand at the Bernabéu.

Then came the 2-1 win over Germany, with goals from Nilson Angulo and Gonzalo Plata sealing the victory in the 77th minute. They could beat the world champions but couldn't overcome a Caribbean island nation.

Looking at the underlying xG numbers, this schizophrenia is even harder to watch. Ecuador's total xG for the tournament was 7.2, but they scored only 2 goals, a conversion rate of 27.8%. Mexico, in just their three group stage matches—2-0 against South Africa, 1-0 against South Korea, and 3-0 against Czech Republic—scored 6 goals with none conceded, with an xG of only 3.6. For every 1 xG they created, they scored nearly 1.7 goals.

One team kicks sure goals off the posts, while the other buries half-chances like penalties.

Aguirre stood on the sidelines, expressionless. He's 67 years old.

In 2002, he led Mexico, winning against Croatia and Ecuador, drawing with Italy, advancing with 7 points. In the round of 16, they lost 2-0 to the USA. Years later, he admitted in an interview that he "made one of the biggest mistakes of his career by changing the tactical system against the USA." In 2010, he led Mexico again, winning against France, drawing with South Africa, losing to Uruguay, advancing on goal difference. In the round of 16, they faced Argentina and fell at the same barrier.

He himself acknowledged his fate: "I've never made it past the fifth game in my coaching career."

This time, Ecuador gave him an opponent that wasn't too tough. Two curled shots solved the problem.

The last time Mexico won a World Cup knockout match was on June 15, 1986. At the Azteca Stadium, 114,000 spectators watched Negrete score in the 34th minute and Servín in the 61st, a 2-0 win over Bulgaria. They then lost to West Germany on penalties in the quarterfinals.

Forty years of waiting.

Aguirre didn't celebrate after the match. "We didn't play well when we won, so I'm not completely satisfied."

His personal curse, the national team's curse—both were lifted at the same time. He didn't even mention it.

In stoppage time, Ecuadorian defender Piero Hincapié covered his mouth and said something to Jiménez. VAR review, straight red card. The second time this new rule was enforced in the tournament, coming at the tail end of a 0-2 loss, it carried an air of desperate frustration.

Becaccece's post-match press conference was brief. "Our contract ends with the World Cup. I don't think we achieved the goals we set."

Over these four years, Ecuador started with a negative three points—due to the Byron Castillo false document scandal during 2022 qualifiers, the CAS ruling deducted 3 points and fined 100,000 Swiss francs for the next qualifiers—and stumbled their way into the World Cup, scoring just two goals in four matches.

Preciado apologized to the fans through tears after the match. Becaccece called this journey "a trip and an adventure." The players' genuine tears and the coach's PR speak were crammed into the same locker room.

Mexico will next play England or DR Congo. July 5th, Mexico City.

When Aguirre was asked how he would prepare, his only reply was: "We need to recover our energy."