Mexico

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.

Mexico's first match was played against Guatemala, which Mexico won 3–2. A series of international friendlies were played against the national representation of Guatemala on 9, 12 and 16 December 1923. The match on 9 December was played in Parque España which Mexico won 2–1. On 12 December, the match ended in a 2–0 win for Mexico, and the final game of the series 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. On 19 June 1927, Mexico faced Spain, drawing 3–3. During this series, the squad also played against the Uruguayan club Nacional de Montevideo, losing 1–3.

Formation

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

Mexico participated in the 1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay, grouped with Argentina, Chile, and France. Mexico took part on the first World Cup match ever, a 4–1 loss to France, with Mexico's first World Cup goal 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.

Post-WWII

Mexico did not appear again in a FIFA World Cup tournament until the 1950 World Cup. Before 1970, Mexico struggled to make much of an impact in the World Cup. It was by far the strongest team in the North American Football Confederation and its successor, CONCACAF, but 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.

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

Mexico failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup, but did make it into the 1978 finals. Mexico 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. With this performance, Mexico won the top spot in its group, and advanced to the next round where they defeated Bulgaria 2–0. In the quarter-finals stage, Mexico lost to West Germany 1–4 in a penalty shootout after the match finished 0–0.

1990s

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, Mexico won its group on tiebreakers, emerging from a group composed of Italy, Ireland, and Norway. However, Mexico lost in the second round to Bulgaria on penalty kicks.

At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Mexico was placed in a group with the Netherlands, South Korea and Belgium. Mexico won their opening fixture 3–1 against South Korea. Mexico tied Belgium 2–2, and against the Netherlands earned another 2–2 draw, qualifying for the round of 16. In that round, Mexico lost 2–1 to Germany.

In 1999, Mexico won its first official FIFA tournament by becoming the first host nation to win the FIFA Confederations Cup. Mexico defeated the United States 1–0 in the semifinals, and 1998 World Cup runners-up Brazil 4–3 in the final.

21st century

2000s

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 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Mexico was in Group D 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. Mexico reached the round-of-16, despite losing to Portugal 2–1. Mexico saw another round of 16 loss, 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.

2010s

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 a 1–3 defeat to Argentina.

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 beat Honduras 2–0. 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.

Mexico placed second in their group at the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and advanced to the semifinals and faced Panama. Mexico lost the match 2–1, their second defeat to Panama in the competition after losing to them in the group stage. The two losses to Panama were the first two times Panama had ever defeated Mexico in a Gold Cup match.

Mexico won only two of ten matches during the fourth round of 2014 World Cup qualifying, but qualified for an intercontinental play-off as the fourth-highest placed team in the CONCACAF region. They defeated New Zealand 9–3 on aggregate to qualify for a sixth consecutive World Cup. The team reached the round of 16 where they were defeated 2–1 by the Netherlands.

At the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Mexico was drawn into Group C along with Triniad and Tobago, Cuba and Guatemala. The team placed second in the group, and won the quarterfinal match against Costa Rica and semifinal against Panama, both under controversial circumstances. Mexico won the Gold Cup after defeating Jamaica 3–1 in the final. Two days after the final, Miguel Herrera was released as coach of the national team after an alleged physical altercation with TV Azteca announcer Christian Martinoli. On 10 October, Mexico defeated the United States 3–2 to win the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF Cup, thus earning qualification to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. The following month, Juan Carlos Osorio was hired as Mexico's 16th manager, replacing interim manager Ricardo Ferretti.

Mexico entered the Copa América Centenario, hosted in the United States, on a 13-match unbeaten streak that began in July 2015. El Tri placed first in Group C, winning 3–1 over Uruguay and 2–0 over Jamaica, and drawing 1–1 with Venezuela. In the quarterfinal against Chile in Santa Clara, California, the team lost 7–0, ending the unbeaten streak at 16 after nearly a year. After the match, manager Osorio apologized to Mexico's fans for what he described as an "embarrassment, an accident of football".

At the 2017 Confederations Cup, Mexico was drawn into Group A along with Portugal, New Zealand, and hosts Russia. El Tri advanced as runners-up of the group, and lost 4–1 to Germany in the semi-finals. Mexico finished fourth in the tournament, losing 2–1 to Portugal in the third-place match.

In their opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Mexico defeated defending champion Germany, thanks to a sole goal from Hirving Lozano, for the first time in a World Cup match. They would go on to defeat South Korea 2–1 in the next game, with goals from Carlos Vela and Javier Hernández, but would fall 3–0 to Sweden in the last group stage match. Despite the loss, Mexico qualified to the round of 16 for the seventh-consecutive tournament. In the round of 16, Mexico was defeated 0–2 by Brazil; the defeat meant that for the seventh tournament in a row, Mexico failed to reach the quarterfinals since they last hosted the World Cup in 1986. On 28 July, Juan Carlos Osorio left as head coach on the expiry of his contract.

In January 2019, Gerardo Martino was appointed as Mexico's new head coach, becoming the third Argentine to coach the national team. In that year's Gold Cup tournament, they won all three group stage matches, defeated Costa Rica in penalties 5–4 following a 1–1 draw in the quarter-final and won against Haiti in the semi-final. Mexico won the Gold Cup after defeating the United States 1–0 in the final.

2020s

Mexico finished runners-up in the 2021 CONCACAF Nations League Final and the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, both in losses to the United States. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Mexico finished third in Group C behind Argentina and Poland (due to goal difference), making it the first time since 1978 that Mexico got eliminated in the group stage (the 1982 and 1990 World Cup tournaments, in which Mexico did not participate, notwithstanding). Head coach Gerardo Martino and Mexico parted ways immediately after the elimination.

In February 2023, Diego Cocca was appointed as the new head coach, the fourth Argentine to take the job. The same month, Mexico automatically qualified for the 2026 World Cup as co-host. In the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League semi-finals, Mexico suffered a 0–3 defeat to the United States, which caused even more widespread outrage in Mexico. They defeated Panama 1–0 in the third place match that was largely boycotted by Mexican fans; the following day, Cocca was dismissed from his post, with Jaime Lozano appointed on an interim basis to take charge for the forthcoming Gold Cup. Mexico went on to win the tournament, defeating Panama 1–0 in the final. After the win, Lozano was appointed as head coach on a permanent basis.