Mexico national football team
| Shirt badge/Association crest | |||
| Nickname(s) | El Tri (El Tricolor) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación | ||
| Confederation | CONCACAF (North America) | ||
| Head coach |  Hugo Sánchez | ||
| Captain | Rafael Márquez | ||
| Most caps | Claudio Suárez (178) | ||
| Top scorer | Jared Borgetti (43) | ||
| Home stadium | Estadio Azteca | ||
| FIFA code | MEX | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 11 | ||
| Highest | 4 (May 2006) | ||
| Lowest | 26 (June 2007) | ||
| First international | |||
 Guatemala 2-3 Mexico (Guatemala, Guatemala; 1 January, 1923) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Mexico 13-0 Bahamas  (Toluca, Mexico; April 28 1987) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 England 8-0 Mexico  (London,England; May 10 1961) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 13 (first in 1930) | ||
| Best result | Quarterfinals, 1970, 1986 | ||
| CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup | |||
| Appearances | 16 (first in 1965) | ||
| Best result | Winners, 1965, 1971, 1977, 1993, 1996,1998, 2003 | ||
| FIFA Confederations Cup | |||
| Appearances | 5 (first in 1995) | ||
| Best result | Winners, 1999 | ||
The Mexico national football team – El Tri – is the national football team of Mexico, and is controlled by the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol.
Mexico has qualified for thirteen World Cups, including the last four. It has reached the second round on all four without managing any further progress. Their best result was reaching the Quarterfinals in both the 1970 and 1986 FIFA World Cups, both hosted by Mexico. They have also had strong showings in the Copa America from the first time they were invited by the CONMEBOL in 1993 held in Ecuador being runner-up in the competition (although Mexico is under the jurisdiction of CONCACAF).
History
Mexico participated in the first World Cup in 1930 – and did not appear again in the tournament until the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Before 1970, Mexico struggled to make much impact in the World Cup when competing against European and South American teams and won only once in five tournaments (in 1962, a 3–1 win over Czechoslovakia). However, Goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal had the distinction of being the first player ever to appear in five consecutive FIFA World Cups.
In 1970, Mexico, hosts for the World Cup, kicked off their campaign with a scoreless draw against the Soviet Union, followed by a controversial win over El Salvador (4–0). They only made it to the next round with victory against Belgium due to a penalty scored by Gustavo Peña in the 14th minute. Against Italy in the quarter-finals, Mexico took the lead before losing 4–1.
After failing to qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, Mexico qualified for Argentina '78 but suffered another early exit after an embarrassing 0-6 defeat to West Germany and a humiliating 1-3 defeat to outsiders Tunisia before losing, once again, 1-3, this time to Poland. Mexico, once again, failed to qualify for a World Cup in Spain 1982 after being held to a scoreless draw against El Salvador.
Once again, Mexico were host for the World Cup in 1986. Led by Bora Milutinovic, Mexico was placed in Group B where they defeated Belgium 2-1. But Mexico was held to a 1-1 tie with Paraguay and only manage to defeat Iraq 1-0. Despite these poor performances, Mexico won top spot in the group to reach the round of sixteen where Mexico faced against Bulgaria easily defeating them 2-0. In the next round, Mexico lost to West Germany 0-0 (1-4 pens).
Mexico was disqualified from the 1990 FIFA World Cup (and any other international competition) for two years for using players over the age limit allowed by FIFA in the qualifying round for the Olympic Games in Seoul 1988. The punishment originally was only going to be applied to the Olympic team and not the World Cup team, but the penalty was applied to all Mexican national representatives of all sports for two years.
In the 1990s, Mexican football began experiencing more consistent international success. An important turning point was its participation in the 1993 Copa America, where they finished second in the tournament, losing to Argentina 2-1 in the final. Mexico went on to win its group on tiebreakers in the 1994 World Cup, emerging from the tournament's "Group of death", composed of Mexico, Italy, Ireland, and Norway. However, Mexico eventually lost in the second round to Bulgaria on penalties.
The Mexican team was managed by coach Manuel Lapuente in a very good qualifying round in which they came in first place in the CONCACAF side. Mexico was placed in Group E, with Holland, Korea Republic and Belgium. Mexico started against Korea Republic losing 0-1 but came back to win 3-1. Belgium had started beating Mexico 2-0 but came back to tie 2-2. The third game against Netherlands ended in another 2-2 result which resulted in qualification to the Round of 16. In the next round, Mexico faced Germany. Although having the lead Mexico did not manage to hold onto it and lost the game 2-1.
After a mediocre qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup, Mexico qualified and was put in Group G alongside Italy, Croatia, Ecuador. Mexico opened play in the 2002 FIFA World Cup with a 1-0 win over Croatia, with Cuauhtémoc Blanco scoring a penalty kick. In the second match, Mexico earned a 2-1 win over Ecuador with goals from Jared Borgetti and Gerardo Torrado. Mexico then played to a 1-1 draw against Italy thanks to a goal from Borgetti that was regarded as one of the best of the tournament. In the second round Mexico played continental rivals the United States in a match that saw Mexican captain Rafael Marquez sent off for a deliberate headbutt on Cobi Jones. Mexico was defeated by the U.S. 2-0, eliminating them from the tournament.
2006 World Cup
- Additional information: 2006 FIFA World Cup - Group D
Mexico played a series of friendlies in preparation for the World Cup in the United States of America, seeking to maximize revenue by appealing to Mexican Americans living in the USA.
Mexico was one of eight seeded teams in the first round at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. The eight seeded teams consisted of Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Mexico. This was the second time a non-hosting CONCACAF nation was seeded. Mexico was put in Group D with Iran, Angola and Portugal.
Mexico won their opening match 3–1 against Iran, with two goals from Omar Bravo and one by Zinha. In their second match, Mexico played to a 0–0 draw against Angola. Mexico joined Portugal as a qualifier in the Round of 16, despite losing to the Portuguese 2–1. During the match, Bravo missed a penalty shot.
In the second round, Mexico played against Argentina. The Mexicans scored in the 5th minute with a goal by captain Rafael Márquez. Four minutes later, an own goal by an injured Jared Borgetti allowed Argentina to equalize. The score remained 1–1 after ninety minutes, and in extra time, an exceptional volley by Maxi Rodríguez in the second period of extra time brought about a 2–1 win for Argentina.
Argentine-Mexican coach Ricardo Lavolpe stepped down as coach after the tournament, and was succeeded by Hugo Sánchez.
Other tournaments
Since their second place finish in the 1993 Copa America, Mexico has been a regular participant in the South American tournament and has competed well. It earned third place in 1997, 1999 and 2007 and another second-place finish in 2001. Mexico has never failed to reach the quarter finals of the Copa America and twice has had the leading scorer in the tournament (Luis Garcia in 1995 (sharing the title with Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta) and Luis Hernández in 1997).
Mexico hosted and won the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup. Mexico won its first official FIFA tournament trophy by beating Brazil with a final score of 4-3. Mexico's star, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, shared the tournament's Golden Shoe award as top scorer with Ronaldinho, he was also awarded the Silver Ball.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the United States proved a credible challenger to Mexico's dominance on the continental football scene, winning the 2002 Gold Cup and eliminating Mexico in the second round of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Mexico again hosted the Gold Cup in 2003 winning it after a 1-0 victory over the U-23 Brazilian squad.
The parallel emergence of the Mexico and the United States on the international stage has helped elevate the status of the CONCACAF region, and has provided a natural rivalry that has benefited the development of both national teams.
The growth experienced by the Mexican national team since the early 1990s was matched by the increased competitiveness of its domestic league, the Primera División de México. Due in large part to lucrative television contracts, Mexican football clubs are amongst the richest outside of Europe. The influx of high level foreign players, together with increased participation in international tournaments has helped compensate for the fact that, traditionally, relatively few Mexican players have sought opportunities in other countries.
Among those that have had successful careers in European leagues are Hugo Sánchez (Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid), Luis Garcia (Atlético Madrid and Real Sociedad), and Rafael Márquez (AS Monaco and FC Barcelona). Other European-based players that have managed to succeed thus far include Carlos Salcido (PSV Eindhoven), Pavel Pardo (VfB Stuttgart), Ricardo Osorio (VfB Stuttgart), and Nery Castillo (Shakhtar Donetsk ) all of whom won championships with their clubs in this past 2006-2007 season.
The U-17 World cup held in Peru in 2005 meant the first under 17 World Cup for Mexico. Mexico was placed in Group B along with Australia, Turkey and Uruguay in which Mexico came out on top. Mexico then went on to face Costa Rica in the quarterfinals which resulted in a 3–1 victory for Mexico thus, allowing them to advanced to the semifinals and face the Netherlands who they beat 4–0. This victory meant Mexico would proceed to play the final against Brazil. Mexico won 3–0
After losing the final match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2007 1-2 against the United States, Mexico successfully rebounded with a remarkable first round participation at CONMEBOL Copa America 2007. Beginning by beating the recent champions Brazil 2-0 (goals from: Nery Castillo 23' and Ramon Morales 28')in their first match. They then went on to defeat Ecuador 2-1(goals from: Nery Castillo 21' and Omar Bravo 79'). For their final match they tied 0-0 with Chile. With those results Mexico came first in Group B with seven points.
In teh quater-finals, they beat Paraguay 6-0. However, the victory was overshadowed to the fact that Paraguay's goal-keeper had gotten a red card almost at the start of the game and thus Paraguay was forced to use their next alternative goalie.
In the semifinals, Argentina beat Mexico 0-3. With this defeat Mexico was left to fight for third place against Uruguay, winning 3-1.
Current Squad
The following squad was selected for the upcoming friendlies against Panama(supended due to rain) and Brazil as of August 31 2007:
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Guillermo Ochoa | July 13, 1985 | 11 | 0 | America
|
| 3 | GK | Alfonso Blanco | July 31, 1987 | 0 | 0 | Indios de Ciudad Juarez
|
| 4 | GK | Sergio Arias | February 27, 1988 | 0 | 0 | Guadalajara
|
| 5 | DF | Omar Esparza | May 21, 1988 | 2 | 0 | Guadalajara
|
| 7 | DF | Julio César Domínguez | November 8, 1987 | 2 | 0 | Cruz Azul
|
| 8 | DF | Edgar Mejia | July 27, 1988 | 0 | 0 | Guadalajara
|
| 9 | DF | Jonny Magallón | March 4, 1982 | 19 | 0 | Guadalajara
|
| 10 | DF | Hector Moreno | January 17, 1988 | 0 | 0 | UNAM
|
| 11 | DF | Adrian Aldrete | February 6, 1988 | 1 | 0 | Morelia
|
| 12 | DF | Fausto Pinto | August 8, 1983 | 5 | 0 | Pachuca
|
| 14 | DF | Carlos Salcido | April 2, 1980 | 44 | 3 |  PSV Eindhoven
|
| 15 | MF | Emmanuel Cerda | January 27, 1987 | 1 | 0 | UANL
|
| 16 | MF | Daniel Guerrero | November 18, 1987 | 1 | 0 | Atlante
|
| 17 | MF | Jaime Correa | August 6, 1979 | 7 | 0 | Pachuca
|
| 18 | MF | Patricio Araujo | January 30, 1988 | 1 | 0 | Guadalajara
|
| 19 | MF | Gerardo Torrado | April 30, 1979 | 78 | 4 | Cruz Azul
|
| 20 | MF | Jorge Hernández | February 22, 1988 | 1 | 0 | Atlas
|
| 21 | MF | Gerardo Rodríguez | April 16, 1985 | 1 | 0 | Pachuca
|
| 22 | MF | Edgar Eduardo Castillo | October 8, 1986 | 1 | 0 | Santos Laguna
|
| 24 | MF | Andres Guardado | September 28, 1986 | 25 | 3 |  Deportivo La Coruña
|
| 25 | FW | Luis Angel Landin | July 23, 1985 | 4 | 0 | Morelia
|
| 26 | FW | Nery Castillo | June 13, 1984 | 11 | 5 |  Shakhtar Donetsk
|
| 27 | FW | Giovani dos Santos | May 11, 1989 | 1 | 0 | Barcelona
|
| 28 | FW | Cesar Villaluz | July 18, 1988 | 1 | 0 | Cruz Azul
|
| 29 | FW | Carlos Vela | March 1, 1989 | 0 | 0 | Osasuna
|
| 31 | FW | Juan Carlos Cacho | May 3, 1982 | 5 | 0 | Pachuca
|
Competitive Record
World Cup Record
Confederations Cup Record
|
CONCACAF Championships Record
|
Pan American Games record |
Top 10 Goalscorers
Players in Bold text are still active with Mexico.
| Football Player | No. of goals |
|---|---|
| 1. Jared Borgetti | 43 |
| 2. Luis Hernández | 35 |
| 3. Carlos Hermosillo | 35 |
| 4. Cuauhtémoc Blanco | 34 |
| 5. Enrique Borja | 31 |
| 6. Zague | 30 |
| 7. Hugo Sánchez | 29 |
| 8. Luis Flores | 29 |
| 9. Luis Garcia | 29 |
| 10. Benjamin Galindo | 28 |
Most Appearences (Caps)
Players in Bold text are still active with Mexico.
| Football Player | No. of Caps |
|---|---|
| 1. Claudio Suarez | 178 |
| 2. Pavel Pardo | 139 |
| 3. Jorge Campos | 129 |
| 4. Ramon Ramirez | 121 |
| 5. Alberto Garcia Aspe | 109 |
| 6. Cuauhtémoc Blanco | 97 |
| 7. Carlos Hermosillo | 90 |
| 8. Luis Hernández | 87 |
| 9. Jared Borgetti | 87 |
| 10. Salvador Carmona | 85 |
| 10. Oswaldo Sánchez | 85 |
List of Goalscorers in World Cups
| Player | Goals | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Juan Carreño | 1 | 1930 |
| Manuel Rosas | 2 | 1930 |
| Roberto Gayón | 1 | 1930 |
| Héctor Ortíz | 1 | 1950 |
| Horacio Casarín | 1 | 1950 |
| José Lamadrid | 1 | 1954 |
| Tomás Balcázar | 1 | 1954 |
| Jaime Belmonte | 1 | 1958 |
| Isidoro Díaz | 1 | 1962 |
| Alfredo del Águila | 1 | 1962 |
| Héctor Hernández | 1 | 1962 |
| Enrique Borja | 1 | 1966 |
| Javier Valdivia | 2 | 1970 |
| Javier Fragoso | 1 | 1970 |
| Ignacio Basaguren | 1 | 1970 |
| Gustavo Peña | 1 | 1970 |
| José González | 1 | 1970 |
| Arturo Vázquez | 1 | 1978 |
| Víctor Rangel | 1 | 1978 |
| Fernando Quirarte | 2 | 1986 |
| Hugo Sánchez | 1 | 1986 |
| Luis Flores | 1 | 1986 |
| Manuel Negrete | 1 | 1986 |
| Raúl Servín | 1 | 1986 |
| Luis García | 2 | 1994 |
| Marcelino Bernal | 1 | 1994 |
| Alberto García Aspe | 2 | 1994-1998 |
| Luis Hernández | 4 | 1998 |
| Ricardo Peláez | 2 | 1998 |
| Cuauhtémoc Blanco | 2 | 1998-2002 |
| Jared Borgetti | 2 | 2002 |
| Gerardo Torrado | 1 | 2002 |
| Omar Bravo | 2 | 2006 |
| Zinha | 1 | 2006 |
| Francisco Fonseca | 1 | 2006 |
| Rafael Márquez | 1 | 2006 |
Previous World Cup squads
Notable players
Notable Coaches
Schedule and Recent Results
| Date | Location | Opponent | Score1 | Competition | Mexico scorers | Opponent scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 7, 2007 | Glendale, Arizona |  United States
|
0-2 | F | None | Conrad 52', Donovan 91+' |
| February 28, 2007 | San Diego, California |  Venezuela
|
3-1 | F | Guardado 25', Arce 34' , Blanco 47' (pen) | Arizmendi 82' |
| March 25, 2007 | San Nicolás, Nuevo León |  Paraguay
|
2-1 | F | Borgetti 78', 82' | Santa Cruz 88' |
| March 28, 2007 | Oakland, California |  Ecuador
|
4-2 | F | Palencia 1', Marquez 73', Bravo 84', Bautista 87' | Tenorio 44', Espionza 55' |
| June 2, 2007 | San Luis, San Luis Potosi |  Iran
|
4-0 | F | Borgetti 2', Lozano 27', Fonseca 80', Torrado 85' | None |
| June 5, 2007 | Mexico City | Paraguay
|
0-1 | F | None | Cardozo 89' |
| June 8, 2007 | East Rutherford, New Jersey |  Cuba
|
2-1 | GCF | Borgetti 38', Castillo 56' | Alcántara 23' |
| June 10, 2007 | East Rutherford, New Jersey |  Honduras
|
1-2 | GCF | Blanco 29' (pen) | Costly 57', 90' |
| June 13, 2007 | Houston, Texas |  Panama
|
1-0 | GCF | Salcido 60' | None |
| June 17, 2007 | Houston, Texas |  Costa Rica
|
1-0 | GCF | Borgetti 97' | None |
| June 21, 2007 | Chicago, Illinois |  Guadeloupe
|
1-0 | GCF | Pardo 70' | None |
| June 24, 2007 | Chicago, Illinois | United States
|
1-2 | GCF | Guardado 44' | Donovan 62' (pen), Feilhaber 73' |
| June 27, 2007 | Puerto Ordaz, Bolívar |  Brazil
|
2-0 | CAF | Castillo 23', Morales 28' | None |
| July 1, 2007 | Maturín, Monagas | Ecuador
|
2-1 | CAF | Castillo 21', Bravo 80' | Edison Mendez 85' |
| July 4, 2007 | Puerto la Cruz, Anzoátegui |  Chile
|
0-0 | CAF | None | None |
| July 8, 2007 | Maturín, Monagas | Paraguay
|
6-0 | CAF | Castillo 4´ (pen), Torrado 26', Castillo 38', Arce 78', Blanco 86´(pen), Bravo 90´ | None |
| July 11, 2007 | Puerto Ordaz, Ciudad Guayana |  Argentina
|
0-3 | CAF | None | Heinze 44', Messi 61', Riquelme 66' (pen) |
| July 14 , 2007 | Caracas, Venezuela |  Uruguay
|
3-1 | CAF | Blanco 37' (pen), Bravo 68', Guardado 75' | Abreu 21' |
| August 22, 2007 | Commerce City |  Colombia
|
0-1 | F | None | Jaime Castrillón 51' |
| September 9, 2007 | Puebla, Puebla | Panama
|
1-0 | F | None | Felipe Baloy (own goal) |
| September 12, 2007 | Boston | Brazil
|
F | |||
| October 17, 2007 | Los Angeles |  China
|
F |
1 - Mexico score always listed first
- Key
- F = Friendly
- GCF = Gold Cup Finals
- CAF = Copa America Finals
Titles
International association football | ||
|---|---|---|
| Africa |  | |
| Asia | ||
| Europe |
| |
| North & Central America and the Caribbean | ||
| Oceania | ||
| South America |
| |
| Non-FIFA | ||
| Games |
| |
2006 FIFA World Cup finalists | |
|---|---|
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Third place | |
| Fourth place | |
| Quarter-finals | |
| Round of 16 | |
| Group stage | |
