Mexico, as a host nation, compete in Group One of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Record:
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Gold Cup winners 13 times
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Best World Cup finish: Quarter-finals in 1970 and 1986, both times when Mexico hosted the tournament
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FIFA ranking: 15
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Last World Cup appearance: 2022 (eliminated in group stage)
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Nickname: El Tri
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Top clubs: Club América, Tigres UANL, Deportivo Toluca
Qualification: Mexico qualify automatically as a host nation.
Coach: Former Mexican international midfielder Javier Aguirre, who was sent off in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final when his country lost on penalties to West Germany — will now, forty years on, lead the Mexican national team at a World Cup for the third time. In 2002 and 2010, he failed to get past the Round of 16. Between his spells with El Tri (2001–02, 2009–10, and since 2024), Aguirre managed several clubs in Spain, including Atlético Madrid. He will be succeeded by former Monaco and Barcelona defender Rafael Márquez after the tournament.
Star player: After a reasonable season at Fulham (10 goals, 3 assists), Raúl Jiménez (35), who has scored 44 goals in 125 international appearances, will lead the attack. Playing on home soil, Jiménez enters his fourth World Cup and is expected to start in the XI for the first time after making only six substitute appearances across the Brazil, Russia, and Qatar editions.
Ambitions: After the group-stage exit in Qatar — in a group with Argentina, Poland, and Saudi Arabia — Mexico's minimum target is to advance from a group that includes South Africa, South Korea, and the Czech Republic, and reach the Round of 16.