In the Group C play-off for second place, Mexico and Poland had an up-and-down battle that almost came down to "fair play points". However, Saudi Arabia staged a shutout at the end of the game, and even though Mexico eventually won 2-1, their seven consecutive trips to the World Cup round of 16 came to an abrupt end, with coach Martino announcing his resignation after the game.
Group C was a tightly contested affair, with Argentina beating Poland 2-0 and Mexico taking a 2-0 lead over Saudi Arabia, as the two teams were tied on points, goals scored and conceded, and head-to-head records. With Poland receiving fewer yellow cards this term, and relying on "Fair Play Points" to come out on top, Mexico went on the offensive in the final minutes of the match, trying to seize the opportunity to "go out", but was unexpectedly crushed by Saudi Arabia's rapid counterattack.
Mexico attacked the goal as many as 26 times in this campaign, of which 10 hit the target, but ultimately failed to change fate, this is the first time since 1978 in the group stage eliminated, and since 1994 seven consecutive to reach the round of 16 of the record was also broken. After the match, Coach Martino said, "I'm responsible for today's result and my contract with the Mexican FA ended when the whistle blew at the end of the match."
