At one point when the Group C matches were going on, a never-seen-before situation arose in the race for qualification for the knockout stages. After scoring two goals against Saudi Arabia, Mexico were in equal points and goal difference with the Polish.
Also read: Fans impressed with Argentina’s purple jersey vs Poland at the FIFA World Cup 2022
In such a situation, qualification to the round of 16 is granted to the team with the least number of yellow cards, and as it turned out, Mexico had eight as opposed to Poland’s six. If the score had stayed that way, then Mexico would have been eliminated from the World Cup on fair play rules.
Here are all the players from Mexico who were on yellow cards.
Also read: Will yellow cards decide Poland, Mexico’s World Cup 2022 fate? All about FIFA’s fair play rule
Hector Moreno
Jorge Sanchez
Roberto Alvarado
Hector Herrera
Erik Gutierrez
Nestor Araujo
Edson Alvarez
Eventually, Saudi Arabia managed to score in the final few minutes of the match, meaning that Poland still managed to stay ahead in spite of not scoring against Argentina.
They finished second in the group, while Argentina were on top, and now both the teams will be promoted to the Round of 16.
Argentina will now be playing Australia, who came second in Group D after defeating Denmark in a shocking encounter. The Danes were the favourites to come second in Group D after they reached the semi-finals of the 2020 Euro Cup, but the Socceroos managed a 1-0 win over them shocking all football fans.
On the other hand, Group D toppers, France, will now be taking on Poland in the Round of 16.