The case of the Mexican team is similar to that of a student who spends the whole year in a state of boredom, more in the corridors than in the classroom. Everything changes for him when he knows that he is about to fail in the subjects of the course and that he has one last chance. This agonizing effort, well worth an agonizing six, he celebrates as a 10 and returns to the same rhythm of skipping classes and omitting homework. This is what Mexican football has been like for the last 20 years during which, out of conviction, it has forgotten its real tasks: to train talents, consolidate them and make the big qualitative leap in the world.
The leaders of Mexican clubs, who direct the destiny of the Mexican Football Federation (FMF), have chosen to maintain their investments in football. In 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, they decided to suspend promotion and relegation indefinitely. The number of foreign footballers that can be used in each team is nine, which has hampered the emergence of youngsters trying to excel in the basic structures of the forces. There is a shortage of strikers, creatives and even goalkeepers, an area in which the country had a good pool. The erratic decisions have pushed the senior team to their limits, who have struggled to find a good crop of youngsters for the 2022 and 2026 World Cups.
In Qatar, Tata Martino led the side which failed miserably when they were eliminated in the group stage, something unheard of in 40 years. After the fall, the FMF took 61 days to analyze the evidence. They promised a change, they signed Diego Cocca for the 2026 process. The Argentinian could only stay in office for four months. His replacement, Jaime Lozano, remained with the team that won the Gold Cup, but another failure in the Copa América, eliminated in the group stage, put his name in the spotlight. In July 2024, less than two years before the World Cup, the leaders appointed Javier Aguirre as their strategist, a way of relaunching the team. Along the way, he won a Nations League and the Gold Cup against the United States. As hosts, they did not play in a World Cup qualifier and had to make do with friendly matches. However, in the Mexican team’s last six matches, they have achieved four draws and two defeats. Since the Martino era, the fans and the team have experienced a divorce full of boos and rebellious acts, such as shouting “puto” to punish the players. Mexico hopes that the World Cup effect can transform this to find its people in the stands.
Here is Mexico’s group at the World Cup:
South Africa: June 11, 1:00 p.m. (Mexico time) at Estadio Azteca
Sixteen years later, the two teams will meet again at a World Cup. In the first African World Cup, in 2010, the locals showed themselves against their team with a good match which started with an advantage thanks to a missile from Tsabalala and the eternal Mexican captain, Rafa Márquez, had to come into action to equalize 1-1. This time the strategist was Javier Aguirre, who this time faces his third cycle at the helm of his team. South Africa advanced to the 2026 World Cup thanks to a good qualifying round where they topped their group against Nigeria, who failed to qualify, Benin, Lesotho, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. Bafana Bafana are managed by Belgian Hugo Broos, who made his career at home and with a winning streak that lasted into the 90s. The base of the team is based in their home country, with a few players playing in Portugal (Phete and Sithole) and striker Luther Singh from Limassol of Cyprus. It is here, during the opening match, that Mexico can take advantage to try to get out of the group and lead it.
South Korea: June 18, 7:00 p.m., at Chivas Stadium
The Mexicans faced the South Koreans twice, each time with good memories. In France 1998, the Mexican team won 3-1 thanks to Cuauhtémoc Blanco’s on-field trick called Cuauhtemina. At Russia 2018, El Tri beat the Asians 2-0 thanks to a penalty from Carlos Vela and another from Javier Chicharito Hernandez. Unfortunately for Mexicans, this is a thing of the past. In the last World Cup qualifiers, Hong Myung-bo’s men came close to perfection with an unbeaten record of six wins and four draws, ahead of rivals like Jordan, Iraq, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait. The team is solid, well guided by its goalscoring captain Heung-Min Son, a former Tottenham player and now a Los Angeles FC player. Mexico’s problem is that they also have a strong defense thanks to Kim Min-Jae, Bayern’s central defender. In addition, they have the creative of Lee Kang-In, current footballer for PSG and with a past at Villarreal. Mexicans and South Koreans have already faced each other this year, with a 2-2 draw, a match won by the Asians and a scissors goal from Santi Giménez which ended up calming the victory for the visitors. The Mexicans have a tough rival if they want to advance to the next round.
Denmark, North Macedonia, Czech Republic or Ireland: June 24, 7:00 p.m., at the Azteca stadium
The puzzle for the 2026 World Cup is not yet defined. For the moment, the pending places remain to be defined and will be resolved during different play-off matches around the world. The Mexicans will have to attend the European qualifiers on March 26 and 31. On the first date, the Czech Republic will face Ireland and Denmark will face North Macedonia. The winners of each series will face off in the deciding match on the last day of March to determine Mexico’s rival. Denmark and Northern Ireland seem very dangerous. The former, already accustomed to World Cups, have a group of players who have fascinated the country since 2018: goalkeeper Schmeichel, Marseille midfielder Hojbjerg and Naples striker Hojlund. They are injured because they lost the direct ticket to the World Cup after being beaten by Scotland (4-2).
Ireland has a strong desire to participate in a World Cup. On the last date of the qualifying rounds, the heart of Hungary beat (2-3) to win the play-off ticket. Hopes rest on their scorer, Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar), who scored a dream hat-trick during this match against the Hungarians. Mexico sees with great concern what can happen in this European crossing, because it is here that it can take the last step to reach the round of 16 as first and play, again, at Azteca.