There’s a strange sensation floating through many fans of the Mexican national team. It’s a feeling of, dare I say it?, optimism, the type that hasn’t existed among the fan base in what feels like forever. More bizarre is the fact that this optimism comes in spite of the fact that Mexico went out of the World Cup in excruciating fashion on Sunday, falling 3 - 2 against the toughest English team in recent memory.
¿Y si sí, aunque no? And if we do, even though we didn’t?
A devastating loss is usually followed by the dread of having to start over from zero. Thankfully, mercifully, Guadalupana-lly, that isn’t the case this time. This time, there’s an actual continuation of a plan in place, with promising players growing into their roles, and a coaching staff that knows the players and the fans well.
Credit where credit is due: the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF), Mexico’s governing body of soccer, finally got it right after years of getting it wrong.
Since the end of the 2018 World Cup, fans were forced to endure six years of poor coaching choices and underwhelming, often embarrassing, results. Worst of all, this was on the heels of Mexico co-hosting its first World Cup tournament since 1986. Their co-hosts Canada and the USA looked better and more prepared on the field by comparison. The Canadians, for example, qualified in first-place for the first time in history for the 2022 World Cup, while the USA kept running off with the CONCACAF silverware.
“Four years ago, me and most of the fan base [were] fed up with the FMF and their handling of the national team. Plus the player pool looked bleak with few prospects waiting in the wings to step [in]. In retrospect, the generation[al] change we heard about in 2023 finally took place in 2026,” says Raul Barraza, founder and host of The Colorful Kit podcast.
The change began in 2024 with the return of Javier “Vasco” Aguirre as head coach, which felt like a step backward at the time. A saving grace was the addition of Rafael Márquez as an assistant coach. The beloved and decorated former national team player for Mexico and then-coach for FC Barcelona Atlètic, accepted the job, as well as a future promotion to head coach after the 2026 World Cup.
The skepticism was high, but the results showed that the FMF’s decision was the correct one as the Mexican team showed up and showed out at home in Mexico City and in Guadalajara. Mexico won all three of in group-stage games without conceding a goal. They then won a direct-elimination game, also with a clean sheet, to reach the elusive “quinto partido.”
Never mind that the fifth game would have been a quarterfinal match in previous editions: If there was one thing Mexico hadn’t done in 40 years, it was win a game directly after the group stage. On Tuesday night, an international euphoria broke out after Aguirre and his team made history by winning their fourth game in a World Cup.
“There was more confidence with the coaching staff, there was good synergy between the experienced [players] and the youth. There was a very concrete plan on how to face this challenge to be the host and do well. I think El Trí finishing in ninth place says a lot about their performance at the World Cup,” says Nayib Morán, who covered Mexico during the tournament for Goal.com.
For all the highs, lows, ups, downs, insides-and-outs endured by the fans for over half a decade, Aguirre and his eventual 26-player squad of veterans, new but experienced players, and youngsters needed just two years to give fans a reason to believe in them again, and to build an unforgettable World Cup experience at home.
“Vasco Aguirre did a very good job in bringing the fan base and the team together. I think that was one of his main goals and, at the end of the day, he succeeded,” adds Morán.
On Wednesday, the FMF made it official: Márquez was now in charge.
“¿Se puede estar orgulloso de un país al borde del desastre?” – Juan Villoro
Beyond football, having a strong national team for fans to support while hosting a tournament is an opportunity to revel in the type of fun, happiness, and joy that can only come once every four years.
Could any other country have turned a pet duck named Merlin into a World Cup mascot? Could any other country have turned tossing people into the air into a popular sport shared with tourists alike?
I’m not wild about Maná, but only this team, this coaching staff, these players, and these fans could have me feeling chills, and a little teary-eyed, when they performed to a sold-out Estadio Azteca with everyone singing along to their corny pop-rock anthem “Oye Mi Amor.”
“This World Cup in Mexico was full of joy and full of hope, where the whole nation came together after so many years of doubters and Mexican fans that did not believe in the Mexican national team. We proved that, together, we can build something really big around the world where all Mexican fans can unite and can support the Mexican national team,” says Augusto Romero, a lifelong fan of the Mexican national team and CF Cruz Azul of Liga MX.
None of this serves to ignore or pretend that the problems that continue to affect Mexico, or any other country for that matter, disappeared during the World Cup. There were plenty of protests before and during the tournament to remind us of that.
But if the violence and danger in Mexico is to be treated as a unique and distinct problem, then so too should the country’s, and the people’s, celebratory joy be treated as unique and special. For over three weeks, that particular joy took center-stage for millions of people at home and for visitors from around the world.
Even yours truly took a last-minute trip to live more Mexican-ly during the last two games of the World Cup in Mexico’s capital.
The tournament may be over in Mexico, but the emotions it gave to millions still linger. FIFA may control the bureaucracy, but it can never own, much less create, what makes a World Cup truly special.
En las buenas y en las malas, arriba México, siempre.
