Mexico will once again play in front of a packed Azteca Stadium in the World Cup Round of 32, but Ecuador will also have strong support from the stands for Tuesday’s match.
Tickets for the Tricolor’s first knockout match in its third World Cup as host sold out several months ago, a situation that sparked discontent among Ecuadorian fans, who took to social media to express their concern about being unable to find tickets for the game.
Despite these complaints, La Tricolor’s fans will indeed have a significant presence at the stadium. FIFA allocated to the Ecuadorian Soccer Federation the percentage of tickets corresponding to each participating team—equivalent to eight percent of the stadium’s capacity—meaning the South American side will have at least 6,500 seats to support their team.
The rest of the stadium will be dominated by Mexican fans. A full house of 80,824 spectators is expected, with more than 90 percent of fans supporting the team coached by Javier Aguirre—marking the largest turnout of El Tri fans at a single match during this World Cup.
The presence of visiting fans will not be a novelty at Mexico’s matches. During the group stage, there were also sections occupied by South Korean fans in Guadalajara and Czech fans in Mexico City, while yellow jerseys were seen in the stands during the match against South Africa—though most belonged to Colombian fans who attended the game.
Now it’s Ecuador’s turn, as they’ll look to make their presence felt with thousands of fans in the stands, although most of the Azteca Stadium will once again be painted green to support the Mexican team in a decisive match on the road to the Round of 16.
