Sports

The Internet Reacts with Memes to Mexico’s Early Elimination from 2022 World Cup

Lead Photo: TOPSHOT - Mexico's midfielder #08 Carlos Rodriguez (L) and Mexico's midfielder #04 Edson Alvarez (R) react after the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group C football match between Saudi Arabia and Mexico at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, north of Doha on November 30, 2022. (Photo by Alfredo ESTRELLA / AFP) (Photo by ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - Mexico's midfielder #08 Carlos Rodriguez (L) and Mexico's midfielder #04 Edson Alvarez (R) react after the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group C football match between Saudi Arabia and Mexico at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, north of Doha on November 30, 2022. (Photo by Alfredo ESTRELLA / AFP) (Photo by ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP via Getty Images)
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Imagine winning your final match in group-stage play at the World Cup and still not advancing to the next round. Can anything be more heartbreaking than that? That is exactly what happened to Mexico on Wednesday (November 30).

For the first time since 1978, Mexico failed to qualify as one of the final 16 teams in the tournament. Mexico won their match against Saudi Arabia 2-1, but because they ended up tied with Poland on a goal differential tiebreaker in their group, they were eliminated from the competition. Poland will move on to the next round with Argentina, who they lost to on Wednesday, 2-0.

There were, of course, plenty of memes on social media to capture some of the emotions that Mexicans and others were probably experiencing after Mexico’s defeat. For all of Mexico’s fans, it was mostly a time to mourn the loss.

During the match, Mexico still had a chance to advance to the next round if they could find a way to score a third goal. Mexico fans were sitting on pins and needles hoping for another goal.

Mexico’s dreams were dashed, however, when Saudi Arabia scored late in the match and a third goal didn’t end up mattering.

After the match was over, fans wondered if having Javier “Chicharito” Hernández on the team would’ve made a difference. Hernández was shockingly left off the team roster. On Twitter, someone posted a video of Hernández playing Call of Duty instead of being in Qatar trying to help his fellow countrymen. Warning: The video below includes language that some people may find offensive.

There were also people on social media wondering how they were going to break the news to boxer Canelo Álvarez that Mexico wasn’t advancing. Álvarez was already angry because he thought Lionel Messi was disrespecting Mexico after his Argentine team beat them this past weekend. He ended up apologizing.

Some suggested this is probably how Álvarez reacted after receiving the bad news.

Nevertheless, Mexico is going home after the 2022 World Cup, which, for many, is more of a reason to bring out the memes.