Mexico finished their group campaign with a perfect record and a clean sheet intact. Three goals without reply at the Estadio Azteca confirmed what the standings already suggested: Javier Aguirre's side were the class of Group A, and Czechia, bottom with a single point from three games, were outclassed on the grandest stage the region has to offer.
The first half was a false picture. Czechia had 51 per cent possession and managed five corners, yet their expected goals figure of 0.47 tells the real story of a team that kept the ball without threatening to do much with it. Mexico sat back with purpose, their 4-3-3 compact and difficult to penetrate, and when the half-time whistle sounded with the score goalless, Koubek's men had little reason for optimism beyond the scoresheet itself. Thirteen shots in total by the end, with only one on target. That is what the Czech evening amounted to.
The second half was different from the moment it resumed. Ten minutes after the restart, Mateo Chávez opened the scoring. The left back's goal, assisted by Luis Romo, was the decisive act that cracked Czech resistance. Chávez had been a persistent presence down Mexico's left all evening, offering both defensive discipline and forward menace, and the goal was a deserved return for a quietly dominant display.
Six minutes later it was two. Julián Quiñones converted from Jorge Sánchez's assist in the 61st minute, and with that the match was done as a contest. Czechia had barely a single shot on target across the full 94 minutes, and their attempts to respond were too cautious, too scattered. The three-back shape offered little width in attack when Mexico sat deep and invited them to find a way through.
Patrik Schick came on for the final half-hour, as did Tomáš Souček, and Lukáš Provod had already entered before the hour. None of them could manufacture a goal. The Czechs hit eight shots off target and had four blocked, which flatters them: very few of those efforts carried genuine menace. Kovář in goal, by contrast, had only two saves to make all night, which is not an evening you want to advertise on your CV.
The third goal arrived deep in stoppage time. Álvaro Fidalgo, on as a substitute with 22 minutes to play, finished Roberto Alvarado's assist to confirm the margin. It was the kind of goal that removes any lingering doubt about the scoreline's fairness. Mexico's expected goals of 1.91 against Czechia's 0.47 reflects a night on which the hosts were measurably more dangerous in every attacking phase.
Edson Álvarez picked up the only yellow card of the match, a minor footnote. More significant was the broader picture: Mexico conceded nothing across three group games, scored six, and won every fixture. They top Group A with nine points and advance as the section's clear standard-bearers.
For Czechia, elimination arrives with the quiet regret of a team that never quite imposed itself. They were not overwhelmed in a purely physical sense; the scoreline hardened only late. But their single shot on target against a Mexico side not at full tilt says enough. There was no visible route to goal, no moment when a breakthrough felt possible. They exit having contributed one point to the standings and rather less to the memory of this tournament.