Mexico

History of the Mexico National Team: El Tri, the Azteca and Three Home World Cups

Participants in the very first World Cup match in 1930, Mexico became in 2026 the first country to host the tournament for a third time. In front of their own fans, El Tri reached the round of 16, narrowly beaten by England.

1. The Pioneers of 1930 (1927–1969)

The Mexican Football Federation was founded in 1927. On 13 July 1930, Mexico played France in the first match in World Cup history, in Montevideo. They then established themselves as the dominant power in the North American, Central American and Caribbean zone, but long struggled to get beyond the group stage at the finals.

2. 1970 and 1986: The Land of World Cups

Mexico hosted the 1970 World Cup — the tournament of Pelé's Brazil and the Italy–West Germany semi-final — played at an Estadio Azteca opened in 1966. El Tri reached the quarter-finals for the first time. Sixteen years later, after Colombia withdrew, they hosted again in 1986 — Maradona's World Cup — and again reached the quarter-finals, eliminated on penalties by West Germany. The Azteca became the only stadium to host two World Cup finals.

3. The Curse of the Fifth Match (1994–2022)

From 1994 to 2018, Mexico came through their group at seven consecutive World Cups, but fell every time in the round of 16: the famous curse of the quinto partido, the fifth match that would have taken them to the quarter-finals. In Qatar in 2022 they went out in the group stage. In the meantime the national team won the 1999 Confederations Cup against Brazil, the Under-17 World Cup in 2005 and 2011 and, above all, Olympic gold in 2012 in London. They are also the most successful side in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which they won again in 2025.

4. The 2026 World Cup: Three-Time Hosts

Co-hosting the 2026 edition with the United States and Canada, Mexico became the first country to host the World Cup for a third time. Mexico City's renovated Estadio Azteca staged the opening match on 11 June 2026 — the first stadium in history to open three World Cups — while Guadalajara and Monterrey completed the list of Mexican host cities.

Ranked fourteenth by FIFA, El Tri came through the group stage and beat Ecuador 2–0 in the round of 32 on 30 June in Mexico City, amid an electric atmosphere. In the last 16, on 5 July, again in Mexico City, they lost 2–3 to England, the eventual third-placed side, after an intense match.

5. A Unique Football Culture

Mexico boasts one of the richest leagues in the Americas, Liga MX, and one of the largest fan bases in the world, including in the United States, where the national team regularly fills the biggest stadiums. Hugo Sánchez, Rafael Márquez — captain at five World Cups — Javier "Chicharito" Hernández, the national team's all-time top scorer, and Guillermo Ochoa, goalkeeper at six World Cups, are its great figures.

6. Towards 2030

Since resuming in September 2026, Mexico have begun a new cycle with the objective that has obsessed them for thirty years: finally clearing the round-of-16 hurdle and reaching a World Cup quarter-final for the first time since 1986.

Honours, Stadium and Legends

Honours: Mexico holds the record for CONCACAF Gold Cup wins (including the 2025 edition, won 2-1 against the United States), one Confederations Cup (1999), Olympic gold in London in 2012 and two U-17 World Cups (2005, 2011). The only country to have hosted the World Cup three times (1970, 1986, 2026), it boasts in the Estadio Azteca the only stadium to have staged two World Cup finals — Pelé's Brazil in 1970 and Maradona's Argentina in 1986 — and three opening matches. Antonio Carbajal and Rafael Márquez, who each appeared at five World Cups, Hugo Sánchez, Jorge Campos, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Andrés Guardado and Javier "Chicharito" Hernández, El Tri's all-time leading scorer, embody its legend.