Mexico celebrates win against Germany, generates false earthquake reading

MEXICO CITY - Thousands of exuberant Mexican soccer fans took to the streets Sunday to cheer their national team’s long-shot win against Germany in Mexico’s first match of the 2018 World Cup soccer tournament.

The 1-0 stunner, with Hirving Lozano scoring the winning goal, has given Mexicans hope that their team might win the tournament for the first time ever. Mexico has competed in the FIFA World Cup since the sporting event kicked off in 1930. The highest it has ever advanced is to the quarter-finals, placing sixth in both 1986 and 1970.

Lozano’s goal set off such a commotion that seismic detectors in Mexico City registered a false earthquake, which the geological institute said may have been generated by “massive jumps” across the city. Spectators who had gathered to watch the match on a big TV screen in the central Zocalo square screamed with joy after the score.

After the match, throngs of fans dressed in green converged around the iconic Angel of Independence monument, bouncing with joy and waving the Mexican flag. Small groups chanted “Mexico” and “Yes we could!” Some broke into song, including the traditional Cielito Lindo tune best known for its “Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay” chorus. Car horns blared, whistles were blown and drums beat for hours after the match.

“We aspire to win a World Cup this time,” said Miguel Paez, a 31-year-old who donned a Mexican wrestling mask in the colors of the national flag as he celebrated on Mexico City’s main avenue, Paseo de la Reforma.

Paez described the game as a welcome distraction from Mexico’s upcoming July 1 presidential election. “Mexico needs a break. Mexico needs to shout,” he said, jumping up and down.