Mexico men's national football team

History

Early years

Football in Mexico was first organized in the early 20th century by European immigrant groups, notably miners from Cornwall, England, and in later years Spanish exiles fleeing the Spanish Civil War.

The team's first match was played on 9 December 1923 at Parque España in Mexico City, beating Guatemala 2–1, which was the first match of a series of international friendlies played against Guatemala. The second match played on 12 December was won by Mexico 2–0, and the final match of the series, played on 16 December, ended in a 3–3 draw. The manager for this team was Rafael Garza Gutiérrez.

It would be another four years before the national team would be represented in international friendlies. Mexico faced Spain, drawing 3–3 on 19 June 1927. During this series, the team also played against Nacional de Montevideo, losing 1–3.

Formation

In 1927, the first official governing football body in Mexico was founded. The 1928 Olympic Football Tournament was Mexico's first official international competition, where Mexico lost to Spain 1–7 in the round of 16.

Mexico participated in the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay, grouped with Argentina, Chile, and France. Mexico took part in the first World Cup match ever, a 4–1 loss to France, with Mexico's first World Cup goal scored by Juan Carreño. In their second match, Mexico fell to Chile 3–0. Mexico's third match, against Argentina, featured the first penalty of the tournament, scored by Mexico's Manuel Rosas, although Mexico would go on to lose this match by a score of 6–3.

Post-WWII

Mexico did not appear in another World Cup tournament until 1950. Despite being the strongest team in the North American Football Confederation and its successor, CONCACAF, Mexico struggled to make much of an impact in the World Cup before 1970, and found it difficult to compete against European and South American teams. However, goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal has the distinction of being the first player ever to appear in five consecutive World Cups.

In 1965, Mexico won the 1965 CONCACAF Championship to become continental champions for the first time.

Mexico hosted the 1970 World Cup and kicked off their campaign with a scoreless draw against the Soviet Union, followed by a 4–0 win over El Salvador. Mexico advanced to the next round with a victory against Belgium, and in the quarter-finals, Mexico was eliminated by Italy, losing 4–1.

Mexico failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, but qualified in 1978 where they suffered an early exit after three defeats: 0–6 against West Germany, 1–3 against Tunisia, and 1–3 to Poland. Mexico failed to qualify for the 1982 World Cup.

In 1986, Mexico again hosted the World Cup. Coached by Bora Milutinović, Mexico was placed in Group B where they defeated Belgium 2–1, drew 1–1 with Paraguay, and defeated Iraq 1–0. El Tri topped their group, and advanced to the next round where they defeated Bulgaria 2–0. In the quarter-finals, Mexico lost to West Germany 1–4 in a penalty shootout after the match finished 0–0.

Mexico was disqualified from the 1990 FIFA World Cup (and other international competitions) after using players over the age limit in the qualifying round for the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship, known as the "Cachirules" scandal. The punishment was applied to all Mexico national representatives of all FIFA-sanctioned tournaments.

In the 1990s, after hiring coach César Luis Menotti, Mexican football began experiencing greater international success. In the 1993 Copa América they finished second, losing to Argentina 2–1 in the final. At the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico won its group on tiebreakers, emerging from a group composed of Italy, Ireland, and Norway. However, Mexico lost in the round of 16 to Bulgaria on penalty kicks.

21st century

Mexico was placed in Group G at the 2002 World Cup alongside Italy, Croatia, and Ecuador. Mexico started with a 1–0 win over Croatia. In the second match, Mexico earned a 2–1 win over Ecuador. Mexico then achieved a 1–1 draw against Italy. In the round of 16, Mexico played rivals United States, losing 2–0.

Mexico was one of eight seeded teams at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and entered Group D, being drawn with Iran, Angola and Portugal. Mexico won their opening match 3–1 against Iran. In their second match, Mexico played to a 0–0 draw against Angola. After losing to Portugal 2–1, Mexico reached the round of 16, where they would be eliminated again, this time to Argentina, 2–1. Mexico's coach Ricardo Lavolpe stepped down after the tournament, and was succeeded by Hugo Sánchez.

After losing the final match of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup 1–2 against the United States, Mexico successfully rebounded at the 2007 Copa América. Beginning by beating Brazil 2–0, they then defeated Ecuador and tied with Chile to come first in Group B. In the quarter-finals, Mexico beat Paraguay 6–0, but lost in the semi-finals 3–0 to Argentina. Mexico secured third place against Uruguay, winning 3–1.

In July 2009, Mexico won their fifth Gold Cup, and eighth CONCACAF Championship overall, after beating the United States 5–0 in the final.

Mexico qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where they were drawn into Group A alongside host South Africa, France and Uruguay. They drew 1–1 against South Africa, defeated France 2–0, and lost 1–0 to Uruguay, and advanced to the round of 16, where they were eliminated following another defeat to Argentina, 1–3.

The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup saw Mexico win their group with three wins and no losses. During the tournament, however, five players tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol and were suspended from the competition. Mexico beat Guatemala in the quarter-finals 2–1, and Honduras 2–0 in the semi-finals. For the third-straight year, the final would be contested between Mexico and the United States; Mexico won the match 4–2, and qualified for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil, where they were eliminated at the group stage.

Home stadium

The Estadio Azteca, also known in Spanish as "El Coloso de Santa Úrsula", was built in 1966. It is the official home stadium of the Mexico national team, as well as the Mexican club team Club América. It has an official capacity of 87,523, making it the largest football-specific stadium in the Americas and the third largest football stadium in the world. The stadium hosted the FIFA World Cup Final in 1970 and 1986, and the stadium hosted the tournament again in 2026.

Friendly matches hosted by the Mexico national team often take place in stadiums across the United States, which are marketed under the branding MEXTOUR by FMF. From 2000 to 2019, the national team played 110 friendlies in the United States, which were criticized as "cash grabs" by fans. In 2022, the team played 15 matches in the United States and averaged over 52,000 in attendance at each of them; several were played at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, which El Tri head coach Jaime Lozano labeled as "the second home of the Mexican national team". Additional friendlies under the MEXTOUR brand are also played in Mexico, including at the Azteca for special occasions.

Team image

Kit

The Mexico national team traditionally uses a tricolor system, composed of green shirts, white shorts and red socks, which originate from the national flag of Mexico, known as the tricolor. Until the mid-1950s, Mexico wore a predominantly maroon kit, with black or dark blue shorts.

In 2015, Adidas released a new all-black color scheme for Mexico's home kit. Green, white and red remain as accent colors.

In 2017, the Mexico national team's jerseys were updated to reflect their Spanish names correctly spelled, with the accent diacritic mark.

Media coverage

All of Mexico matches are shown live on both over-the-air networks Televisa and TV Azteca in Mexico until 2034 but in 2027, 2028, and 2029, the Mexico matches during CONCACAF Nations League final four and Gold Cup is excluded on the package after the American OTT streaming platform Netflix scores the new big deal with CONCACAF for viewers in Mexico. In the United States all of Mexico's international friendlies and home World Cup qualifiers are shown on Spanish language network Univision while away World Cup qualifiers are shown on Telemundo. On 30 January 2013, English language network ESPN and Univision announced an agreement to telecast the Mexico national team home World Cup qualifiers and international friendly matches in English in the United States.

Supporters

Mexico's fans are infamously known for the vulgar chant "¡Eh, puto!", which is typically said when an opponent's goalkeeper is about to perform a goal kick.

The origins of the chant is thought to have had developed in the 1980s in Monterrey where in little league American football games, fans would chant "¡Eh, pum!" during the opening kickoff. This chant was not disparagingly used as the word pum is attributed to an impact of some sort. Though the current incarnation of the chant is widely thought to have originated sometime between 2000 and 2003 by supporters of Atlas to former Atlas goalkeeper, Oswaldo Sánchez, no primary sources exist that support this claim and is an urban legend. The earliest documented usage of puto being chanted by fans in this manner occurred on 22 May 2004, during the second leg of the 2004 Clausura repechage match between Cruz Azul and Pachuca. Fans of Pachuca repeatedly chanted puto every time Óscar Pérez performed a goal kick.

Due to the homophobic meaning of the word puto in Mexican Spanish (a vulgar term for a male prostitute), the chant received negative attention in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Mexico's fans defended it as being traditionally used in the Liga MX. On 23 June 2014, FIFA dropped an investigation, concluding that the chant "was not considered insulting in the specific context". Football Against Racism in Europe, an anti-discrimination organization, criticized the ruling as "disappointing". In 2017, in advance of the 2018 World Cup, FIFA fined the Mexico football federation over fans' use of the chant and introduced escalating sanctions, which were first applied in Liga MX games in 2019. In 2021, three Mexico international matches in the United States were halted because of fan behaviour, including the CONCACAF Nations League final against the United States, in which fans also threw things onto the pitch and Giovanni Reyna was hit in the face by a heavy object. On 18 June 2021, FIFA announced that as a penalty for the use of the chant in a pre-Olympics tournament in Guadalajara, spectators would be barred from Mexico's first two qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup. During the semi-finals, the match between Mexico and the United States was stopped at the 90th minute and eventually ended early due to the chants.

Rivalries

United States

Mexico and the United States are widely considered as the two top teams in CONCACAF. Matches between the two nations often attract media attention, public interest and discourse in both countries. Although the first match was played in 1934, their rivalry was not considered major until the late 20th century, when the U.S. emerged as a solid international side.

Mexico met the United States in the round of 16 of the 2002 World Cup, losing 2–0. Ten years later, on 15 August 2012, the United States defeated Mexico at Estadio Azteca in the first victory for the U.S. against Mexico on Mexican soil in 75 years. On 11 November 2016, El Tri achieved their second consecutive victory on U.S. soil, in qualification for the 2018 World Cup, by defeating the U.S. in Columbus, Ohio.

Since their first meeting in 1934, the two teams have met 78 times, with Mexico leading at 37 wins, 17 draws, and 24 losses, 147 goals scored, and 92 conceded. Mexico dominated in early years, with a 27–9–5 record through 1990. However, since that time the series has become much more competitive, largely due to growth of soccer in the United States; since 2000, the series has favored the U.S. 18–8–9, with Mexico outscored 48–33. But in the 2010s, the rivalry has been marked by Mexican success, with Mexico defeating the United States in the Gold Cup final in 2011 and 2019, and the CONCACAF Cup in 2015. In 2021, however, Mexico lost to the United States in both the CONCACAF Nations League final and the Gold Cup final. Still, Mexico remains undefeated to the United States at home soil in competitive matches, with all 19 meetings at home soil being either a win (15) or a draw (4).

Costa Rica

Mexico has a growing rivalry with Costa Rica, as Costa Rica is the first country in CONCACAF to beat Mexico on Mexican soil in FIFA World Cup qualification, known as Aztecazo. Costa Rica is also widely recognised as the only Central American national team to have sufficient quality to compete at the global stage, which increased the importance of the rivalry. Mexico holds a dominant record against Costa Rica with 32 wins, 20 draws and only 6 losses.

Argentina

Mexico has a rivalry with Argentina, given these two nations are among the most renowned Hispanic nations in the world. The rivalry is abnormal by the fact it is intercontinental, with Argentina part of CONMEBOL and Mexico part of CONCACAF. This rivalry is more keenly felt by Mexican supporters than Argentines, who typically view Brazil, Uruguay, England and Germany as bigger rivals. In fact, a number of Argentines do not consider Mexico as rivals. Mexico has historically not fared well against Argentina, recording only 4 wins, 16 losses and 12 draws.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Win

Draw

Loss

Fixture

Coaching staff

As of 28 August 2026

Players

Current squad

The following 26 players were named in the squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Caps and goals correct as of 5 July 2026, after the match against England.

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up within the last twelve months.

Player records

As of 5 July 2026

Players in bold are still active with Mexico. Includes only statistics recognized by FIFA.

Competitive record

Head-to-head record

As of 5 July 2026

Positive Record

Neutral Record

Negative Record

Honours

Global

FIFA Confederations Cup

Champions (1): 1999

Third place (1): 1995

Continental

CONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup

Champions (13): 1965, 1971, 1977, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023, 2025

Runners-up (3): 1967, 2007, 2021

Third place (3): 1973, 1981, 1991

CONCACAF Nations League

Champions (1): 2024–25

Runners-up (2): 2019–20, 2023–24

Third place (1): 2022–23

CONCACAF Cup

Champions (1): 2015

CONMEBOL Copa América

Runners-up (2): 1993, 2001

Third place (3): 1997, 1999, 2007

Panamerican Championship1

Third place (1): 1960

Subregional

NAFC Championship2

Champions (2): 1947, 1949

North American Nations Cup

Champions (1): 1991

Runners-up (1): 1990

Central American and Caribbean Games

Gold medal (2): 1935, 1938

Friendly

Torneo Internacional de Chile (1): 1966

Copa Ciudad de México (1): 1975

Azteca 2000 Tournament (1): 1985

Marlboro Cup (1): 1989

U.S. Cup (3): 1996, 1997, 1999

Lunar New Year Cup (1): 1999

Copa Reebok (1): 1999

Summary

Only official honours are included, according to FIFA statutes (competitions organized/recognized by FIFA or an affiliated confederation).

Notes

Official continental competition organized by PFC, the former unified confederation of the Americas, formed by NAFC, CCCF and CONMEBOL (1946–1961).

Official subregional competition organized by NAFC, direct predecessor confederation of CONCACAF and the former governing body of football in North America (1946–1961).