Mexico Loses in the Round of 16 at the World Cup for 6th Straight Time

With a 1-0 lead after 87 minutes, it looked like Mexico was finally going to break its five-tournament streak of losing in the round of 16 at the World Cup. However, thanks to an epic seven minutes by the Netherlands, Mexico eventually lost 2-1 to extend its streak of losing in the round of 16 to six consecutive World Cups, per ESPN Stats & Info.

The streak began in 1994 when Mexico lost to Bulgaria, followed by losses to Germany in 1998, the United States in 2002, Argentina in 2006 and 2010 and now the Netherlands.

Mexico has the third-longest active streak of advancing past the group stage, trailing only Brazil and Germany. However, while Brazil got an automatic bid as host, and Germany breezed through UEFA qualifying, Mexico almost did not qualify for this year's tournament at all.

Thanks to a miraculous late win by the United States over Panama in CONCACAF qualifying back in January, Mexico sneaked into fourth place, which meant a playoff against New Zealand. Had the United States not scored two stoppage-time goals in that match, Panama would have taken Mexico's place against the Kiwis.

The Mexicans thrashed New Zealand in the final qualifier, winning the first leg 5-1 at home and then the second leg 4-2 in New Zealand.

In order to reach its sixth straight World Cup knockout round, Mexico defeated both Cameroon and Croatia and also managed a draw with the hosts.