MEXICO CITY (AP) — Javier Aguirre has been saying for a while now that the key to the Mexican team’s success at the World Cup is that they are a family. This family, it seems, is on a historic journey.
Mateo Chávez and Julián Quiñones scored in a six-minute span early in the second half, and Mexico beat the Czech Republic 3-0 on Wednesday to complete wins in all three of its World Cup group-stage matches for the first time.
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Mexico's Mateo Chavez (20) shoots and scores their opening goal against Czechia goalkeeper Matej Kovar (1) during the World Cup Group A soccer match between Czechia and Mexico in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Mexico's Alvaro Fidalgo celebrates scoring his side's third goal against Czechia during a World Cup Group A soccer match in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Mexico's Mateo Chavez celebrates scoring the opening goal during a World Cup Group A soccer match between Mexico and Czechia in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, top, celebrates with teammates following the World Cup Group A soccer match between Czechia and Mexico in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexico's Julian Quinones celebrates scoring his side's second goal against Czechia during a World Cup Group A soccer match in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
The 22-year-old Chávez, in his first World Cup, opened the scoring in the 55th minute and Quiñones scored his second goal of the tournament in the 61st. Alvaro Fidalgo added a goal in stoppage time.
“It was something very beautiful, and I’ll take it with me to the grave,” Chávez said of his goal. “I imagined it many times; I dreamed of this.”
Mexico's previous best group-stage performance was two wins and one draw, done in 1986 and 2002 and both featuring Javier Aguirre, the first as a midfielder and the second as El Tri's coach. Aguirre is back as coach this year, his third stint leading the national team.
After topping Group A, Mexico will play again at Estadio Azteca on Tuesday in a round-of-32 match against an opponent to be determined.
“Now comes the knockout stage; statistics and data don’t matter. We’re achieving things, but what lies ahead is what counts,” Aguirre said. “Neither the players nor I dwell on what we’ve just done; we’re thinking about what’s next.”
Mexico is undefeated at nine World Cup matches at the massive stadium, which was packed with 80,824 fans on Wednesday. El Tri has only two losses at Azteca, most recently in World Cup qualifying against Honduras on Sept. 6, 2013.
The match Wednesday included nods to Mexico’s past and future. Gilberto Mora, at 17, became the youngest Mexico player to start in a World Cup. And 40-year-old goalkeeper Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa entered in the 77th minute, joining Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to appear in six World Cups.
Mora said “it’s like a dream come true after everything I’ve worked for.”
“Now we have tough opponents ahead,” he added. “We’re going to keep working to stay on this path. We want to keep advancing because the Mexican national team can become champion.”
Mexico's triumph was marred, however, by the return of a homophobic chant by fans that has previously led to fines and other sanctions against its soccer federation. The chant, a one-word slur, was heard near the end of the first half when Czech goalkeeper Matej Kovar took a goal kick.
The Czech Republic was eliminated, finishing with one point in three games.
Mexico is unbeaten in 11 games dating to a friendly loss against Panama last November. And Aguirre has made the most of his roster, using 25 of 26 players in the tournament. Chávez was one of five starters Wednesday who didn't start in the previous win over South Korea.
“Twenty-five of the 26 have played — that is no small detail — nor is it a small detail that everyone celebrates the goals,” Aguirre said.
Ochoa, who wears No. 13, played the last 13 minutes in regulation, plus stoppage time, in what's likely to be his last appearance for Mexico. He turns 41 on July 13 and plans to retire from international competition after the World Cup.
“Life — football — had this farewell in store for me, to cap it all off perfectly. For my part, I’ve left it all out there; I gave everything,” Ochoa said. “I leave with nothing left because I poured it all into my teams and the national squad.”
He was a substitute in the 2006 and 2010 tournaments and started for Mexico in 2014, 2018 and 2022.
“I felt Memo had to play (but) for how long? I never knew until I said, ‘This is the moment,’” Aguirre said. “These are coaching decisions, but it was a night for Mexico to honor its legend, Memo.”
Raúl Rangel is the starter this year, stepping in for the injured Luis Ángel Malagón, who helped Mexico win the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup last year. Malagón's injury opened the door for Ochoa's return.
Ochoa became the oldest Mexican to play in the World Cup. The previous record holder was Cuauhtémoc Blanco, who was 37 when he played in South Africa in 2014.
After the match, the veteran goalkeeper kissed the goal post before kneeling down and was hugged by the rest of the squad.
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Mexico's Mateo Chavez (20) shoots and scores their opening goal against Czechia goalkeeper Matej Kovar (1) during the World Cup Group A soccer match between Czechia and Mexico in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Mexico's Alvaro Fidalgo celebrates scoring his side's third goal against Czechia during a World Cup Group A soccer match in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Mexico's Mateo Chavez celebrates scoring the opening goal during a World Cup Group A soccer match between Mexico and Czechia in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, top, celebrates with teammates following the World Cup Group A soccer match between Czechia and Mexico in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexico's Julian Quinones celebrates scoring his side's second goal against Czechia during a World Cup Group A soccer match in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
DENVER (AP) — Tyler Freeman’s sacrifice bunt in the eighth inning drove in the go-ahead run, Cole Carrigg had three RBIs and the Colorado Rockies rallied past the Boston Red Sox 8-6 on Wednesday.
After pinch-hitter Mickey Moniak and Willi Castro singled off Justin Slaten (0-4) and put runners on first and third with the game tied at 6, Freeman put down a bunt along the first-base line that scored Moniak to put the Rockies up. Carrigg capped the scoring with an RBI double.
Antonio Senzatela (8-0) struck out two in two perfect innings and Jimmy Herget picked up his second save with a hitless ninth. Rockies starter Kyle Freeland allowed six runs and 11 hits as Colorado fell behind 3-0 after two innings and 6-3 after five.
Carrigg, Jake McCarthy and Troy Johnston each hit RBI singles during the Rockies’ three-run seventh inning to tie it at 6.
Connor Wong hit his first home run since Sept. 8, 2024, for the Red Sox in the second. Andruw Monasterio’s homer in the fourth gave Boston a 5-2 lead. Willson Contreras and Anthony Seigler both hit one-run doubles for Boston, which hasn’t won back-to-back series since April 6-12.
MARLINS 4, RANGERS 2
MIAMI (AP) — Otto López homered, Xavier Edwards had an RBI single in the fifth and Miami beat Texas.
López’s two-run shot in the eighth off reliever Cole Winn gave him a 33rd multi-hit game and raised his major league-leading batting average to .340. López also had a single.
Edwards snapped a 1-1 tie with his RBI against Jacob deGrom (6-5). Owen Caissie hit a leadoff single and Leo Jimenez followed with a walk. Both advanced on a sacrifice bunt. Edwards then hit a grounder to right that scored Caissie.
John King (5-1) pitched an inning of relief for the win. Anthony Bender and Michael Petersen combined for seven outs before Pete Fairbanks closed around Joc Pederson’s leadoff homer in the ninth for his 12th save.
DeGrom struck out eight over six innings of two-run-ball. The right-hander allowed four hits and walked two. He ended his outing by striking out the side.
CUBS 10, METS 3, 1ST GAME
CUBS 10, METS 5, 2nd GAME
NEW YORK (AP) — Dansby Swanson had a go-ahead RBI triple and four RBIs to cap a monster doubleheader performance and help Chicago sweep the reeling New York Mets.
Swanson hit a three-run homer and a grand slam in the Cubs’ victory in the opener. The 11 RBIs in a doubleheader are a franchise record, breaking the mark of 10 set by Hall of Famer Ron Santo on July 6, 1970.
Swanson also homered on Tuesday night and has three homers and 15 RBIs in the first three games of the series. The shortstop had just 14 RBIs in his previous 48 games entering Tuesday.
Pedro Ramirez had two RBIs in the second game, when Carson Kelly, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Matt Shaw had an RBI apiece.
Shota Imanaga (5-6) surrendered four runs over 5 1/3 innings.
ANGELS 7, OTIOLES 6, 10 INNINGS
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Nolan Schanuel reached third on an error and Logan O’Hoppe drove him in on a soft ground ball in the 10th inning as Los Angeles rallied back to defeat Baltimore.
It was the 12th come-from-behind victory for the Halos and sixth walk-off win.
Pinch-hitter Vaughn Grissom started the rally with an RBI single in the eighth, and Wade Meckler tied the game with a two-run single.
Pete Alonso gave the Orioles the lead again with a 10th-inning RBI single, but Oswald Peraza scored on Schanuel’s soft grounder to tie after Keegan Akin mishandled the toss while covering first.
GUARDIANS 4, WHITE SOX 3, 10 INNINGS
CHICAGO (AP) — Khalil Watson singled in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning for his third RBI of the day, and Cleveland survived a ninth-inning collapse to beat Chicago.
In a game delayed by rain at the start for 2 hours, 40 minutes, Watson singled to left off Grant Taylor (2-1) to score automatic runner Petey Halpin from third and help Cleveland tie Chicago for the AL Central lead.
Braden Montgomery and Randal Grichuk homered off majors saves leader Cade Smith with two outs in the ninth to tie it for Chicago. Smith had two of his three blown saves this season in this series.
Shawn Armstrong (2-1) got the final out of the ninth and pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the 10th.
Guardians starter Tanner Bibee threw six shutout innings, scattering three hits to extend his streak of scoreless innings against the White Sox to 15.
YANKEES 4, TIGERS 2
DETROIT (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt had two home runs and Jasson Domínguez hit a go-ahead, two-run shot in the sixth inning off Tarik Skubal, lifting New York to a series-winning victory over Detroit.
Skubal (3-4) tied a career high by giving up three home runs, allowing that many in a game for the first time since 2021. The two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner gave up only one other hit, didn’t walk a batter and had nine strikeouts over six innings.
Ryan Weathers (3-5) allowed two runs — one earned — six hits and walked two while striking out six in six innings.
Yerry De los Santos and Fernando Cruz combined for two innings of relief and David Bednar pitched the ninth for his 16th save.
PIRATES 11, MARINERS 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Braxton Ashcraft pitched six strong innings, batterymate Endy Roriguez drove in three runs and Ryan O’Hearn had three hits to help Pittsburgh rout Seattle.
Ashcraft (7-3) had 10 strikeouts without a walk while allowing one run and five hits. He became the first Pirates pitcher to have at least two starts in the same season with at least 10 strikeouts and zero walks since at least 1901.
Rodriguez’s two-run double opened the scoring in a five-run fourth inning against Bryan Woo (6-6) as the Pirates went ahead 5-1. Rodriguez also singled in a run in a four-run seventh that pushed the lead to 9-1.
Carmen Mlodzinski pitched four scoreless innings for his second save.
Tyler Callihan tripled home Rodriguez in the fourth, Jake Mangum, and Esmerlyn Valdez followed with run-scoring singles.
O’Hearn doubled twice, including one that drove in a pair in the seventh. Valdez and Nick Gonzales had two hits and Callihan had two RBIs.
RAYS 5, ROYALS 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Griffin Jax pitched five strong innings, Yandy Díaz tied Tampa Bay’s franchise record for career RBIs and the Rays defeated Kansas City.
Jax (3-5) struck out seven while allowing two unearned runs and five hits. It was his fourth start in a row with at least five innings pitched and less than two earned runs allowed. Bryan Baker gave up a run in the ninth, but closed it out for his 20th save.
Díaz hammered a line drive to left field in the fourth inning to tie B.J. Upton’s franchise mark of 447 RBIs and give Tampa Bay a 4-0 lead. Jonny DeLuca followed with an RBI double.
Nick Fortes and Díaz opened the scoring in the third when they both scored after Royals first baseman Jac Caglianone fielded Ryan Vilade’s grounder and stepped on the bag for the out — but then his throw home went wide of catcher Salvador Perez. Jonathan Aranda added a one-run single to put the Rays up 3-0.
Noah Cameron (4-5) gave up all five runs on eight hits in five innings for the Royals.
ASTROS 3, BLUE JAYS 1
TORONTO (AP) — Joey Loperfido scored the tiebreaking run on Jeff Hoffman’s errant pickoff throw in the eighth inning and Houston beat Toronto for their sixth victory in eight games.
Loperfido tripled off the center field wall with one out and scored when Hoffman’s pickoff throw sailed past third baseman Kazuma Okamoto. Okamoto was standing well wide of the base.
Loperfido beat his former team Tuesday with a tiebreaking home run in the 11th inning of Houston’s 9-7 win.
Hoffman (5-5) lost for the first time since May 30 at Baltimore.
Isaac Paredes had an RBI double in the first and Jeremy Peña’s infield single scored an insurance run in the ninth as the Astros won with only four hits.
PHILLIES 5, NATIONALS 4
WASHINGTON (AP) — Derek Hill hit a two-out, two-run pinch home run in the ninth inning to lift Philadelphia past Washington.
The comeback came a night after the Phillies had an eight-run ninth inning in a 14-9 victory over the Nationals.
Major league homers leader Kyle Schwarber, out of the starting lineup with lower back tightness, pinch hit with two outs and walked against Orlando Ribalta. Left-hander Richard Lovelady (2-4) came on and Hill pinch hit for Justin Crawford and homered to right center on a 1-2 pitch.
Brandon Marsh had three hits for the Phillies. He is 7 for 13 with two homers, three RBIs and four runs in the series.
Seth Johnson (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the victory, and Jhoan Duran struck out the side in the ninth for his 19th save.
Curtis Mead smacked a pinch two-run homer to give Washington a 4-3 lead in the sixth. Luis Garica Jr. and Jorbit Vivas also homered for the Nationals. Garcia homered in this third consecutive game and Vivas connected in his second straight.
Phillies starter Aaron Nola gave up two runs on three hits in five innings.
DODGERS 4, TWINS 3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Mookie Betts backed Shohei Ohtani with his 300th career home run, three hits and slick defense as the Los Angeles Dodgers finished a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 4-3 victory on Wednesday night.
Ohtani helped himself with an RBI single to spark a three-run third inning against Twins starter Joe Ryan after the two-way superstar fell behind with a three-run second.
Max Muncy and Alex Call drove in the tying and go-ahead runs off Ryan for the MLB-leading Dodgers, and Tanner Scott pitched the ninth inning for his 11th save.
BREWERS 6, REDS 5
CINCINNATI (AP) — William Contreras and Jake Bauers hit back-to-back homers in the third inning and Milwaukee beat Cincinnati to complete a three-game sweep.
Milwaukee improved to a season-high 20 games over .500 at 49-29. The Brewers have won 18 of the last 21 series against the Reds.
Cincinnati (37-42) was swept at home for the first time since Aug. 16-18, 2024 against the Royals, a streak of 44 consecutive series.
The Reds loaded the bases with one out in the ninth against Joel Kuhnel, who got Dane Myers to ground into an ending 6-4-3 double play.
DIAMONDBACKS 9, CARDINALS 4
ST. LOUIS (AP) — LuJames Groover and Ketel Marte hit back-to-back home runs to cap a six-run fourth inning that powered Arizona to a victory over St. Louis.
Tommy Troy went 2 for 5 with two RBIs on a night during which every Diamondbacks hitter had at least one hit.
Mitch Bratt allowed one run and two hits and two walks in three innings as he became the first Canadian pitcher to make his major league debut with the Diamondbacks. Ryan Thompson (3-1) allowed one run on two hits in two innings in relief of Bratt.
José Fermín homered in the ninth inning for St. Louis and rookie Blaze Jordan went 2 for 3 with three RBIs for his third multi-RBI game in 12 games since making his major league debut on June 12.
Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore (3-5) allowed six runs and eight hits with two walks in 5 1/3 innings. He’s 0-2 with a 10.34 ERA in four June starts.
PADRES 5, BRAVES 2
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Ty France homered and JP Sears won his season debut for San Diego, who beat the NL East-leading Atlanta for a three-game sweep.
The Padres have won five of seven heading into a home weekend series against the NL-West leading Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres lost two of three when the Dodgers visited in mid-May. The Dodgers lead the Padres by nine games.
France homered to left off Martín Pérez leading off the third, his ninth. He hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth and doubled leading off the sixth, scoring on Samad Taylor’s two-run single.
Pérez (6-4), who pitched for the Padres part of 2024, saw his streak of four straight wins ends. He allowed three runs and four hits in four innings, struck out four and walked four.
Sears (1-0) was cruising with a four-hitter before allowing Joey Bart’s two-run home run with two outs in the sixth. It was his third and came with Austin Riley aboard on a walk.
GIANTS 2, ATHLETICS 1
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Rafael Devers hit a tying home run leading off the ninth and Victor Bericoto connected one out with a drive over the center-field fence, sending San Francisco to a victory against the Athletics.
Devers and Bericoto connected off Elvis Alvarado (3-3), who blew the save. Erik Miller (1-0) pitched the top of the ninth for the win.
Max Muncy homered for the A’s with two outs in the eighth to break up a scoreless game.
Colorado Rockies' Tyler Freeman puts down a bunt to drive in a run from third base against Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Justin Slaten in the eighth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
