With hope in its voice, Mexico asks: '¿Y si sí?"

Fans have adopted the rallying cry for underdog pursuit in World Cup

- EDUARD CAUICH

FANS celebrate during the matchup between Mexico and Ecuador at a watch party in Mexico City Tuesday.

César Aquino had never been to the Fan Festival in Mexico City's Zócalo. But on Wednesday, the day after Mexico beat Ecuador 2-0 to secure its fourth consecutive World Cup victory, the fan and his wife, Angélica Arias, walked to the plaza wearing two identical caps. Both had the same question embroidered on them: "¿Y si sí?" In English, it translates to "What if we do?" It's a catchphrase that fans, players and public figures have used to encourage people to dream that the Mexican team can exceed expectations national soccer "I'm pleasantly surprised by how the team has progressed," Aquino said. "The enthusiasm of the people is reaching all of us; little by little, that excitement has taken hold of us. That's why I'm here." Last month, the streets of Mexico City told a different story. They were filled with protesters - including outraged members of a teachers' union and relatives of kidnapping victims, as well as fans skeptical of a team that, four years earlier, posted its worst World Cup performance since 1978. Social problems and public anger toward the government mingled with soccerinduced anxiety.

"The mood in the country was somber; morale was low," recalled Aquino, who attended the World Cups in South Africa in 2010, Brazil in 2014 and Qatar in 2022. "But as the date approached, people got more and more into it." On Tuesday, more than a million fans took to the streets to celebrate Mexico's advancement to the World Cup's round of 16, a feat the national team hadn't achieved since 1986, and with each victory, the human tide grows. More than 400,000 people surrounded El Ángel de la Independencia statue for the first Mexico game, then more than 800,000 gathered for the next few games and more than a million during Mexico's most recent win.