Caicedo captained La Tri in Mexico City and played the full game, while Paez was brought off the bench with just over ten minutes remaining for his first appearance at the tournament.

Kick-off was delayed by an hour in Mexico City due to a thunderstorm. When the action got underway, it was the hosts who started the quicker at a fervent Azteca Stadium.

They created four chances inside the opening ten minutes and though Ecuador’s John Yeboah did strike the outside of the post with a prodded effort, it was no surprise when Julian Quinones fired the Mexicans in front with a fine finish on 22 minutes.

Raul Jimenez quickly doubled their advantage with a well-taken effort of his own after Ecuador had lost possession in a dangerous area.

Ecuador improved after the break and their best chance stemmed from a superb long pass from Caicedo that released Gonzalo Plata, but he could only flick his one-on-one effort wide.

Paez was introduced late on, but Ecuador’s misery was compounded in injury time when Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie was sent off for covering his mouth.

Mexico will play the winner of today’s England vs DR Congo fixture in the Round of 16, also in Mexico City – where they are yet to lose any of their ten World Cup games dating back to 1970.