Mexico

National Team Information
Mexico National Football Team History
Mexico’s First International
Mexico’s first international was against Guatemala in 1923, and the match finished in a 3-2 Mexico victory. Afterward, in 1930, El Tri took part in the first ever World Cup match against France, but it finished in a 4-1 defeat for Mexico. Mexico’s FIFA World Cup appearance was cut short, as they went on to lose all three of their matches. They didn’t play in another World Cup until 1950.
The 50s: Off to a Bad Start
They also lost all three games at that tournament and lost their first nine FIFA World Cup matches. It wasn’t until 1962 that Mexico’s first World Cup win came over Czechoslovakia, but they failed to make it out of the group stage once again.
In 1965, Mexico National football team won the CONCACAF Championship and they hosted the World Cup in 1970. There, they advanced out of the FIFA World Cup group stage for the first time, since goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal became the first player to play in five World Cups. Mexico lost to Italy 4-1 in the quarterfinals.
Mexico failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup and dropped all three of their matches at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. Mexico also failed to qualify in 1982 but hosted the 1986 World Cup.
The Mexico National football team finished on top of Group B in ’86 and defeated Bulgaria in the round of 16, marking their first knockout-stage win at a World Cup. They were defeated by West Germany in the quarterfinals on penalties.
Banned From the 1990 World Cup
For using players over the age limit at FIFA Youth Championship qualifiers, Mexico were banned from the 1990 World Cup. In 1993, Mexico were invitees to the Copa America and made the final, where they lost to Argentina.
At the 1994 World Cup in the USA, Bulgaria beat Mexico in the round of 16. Mexico were eliminated in the same round by Germany in 1998. El Tri won their first FIFA trophy by defeating Brazil in the 1999 Confederations Cup final.
Losing to rivals USA 2-0 in the 2002 World Cup round of 16, Mexico were eliminated. They were again eliminated at the same stage by Argentina in both 2006 and 2010.
Mexico’s Best Wins: 2018 World Cup
Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa was outstanding during the 2014 World Cup but Mexico were eventually eliminated by the Netherlands in the round of 16. El Tri both made -and were eliminated in- their seventh consecutive round of 16 in 2018 by Brazil. On a side note, one of Mexico’s best World Cup wins came during that tournament as they beat defending World Cup champions Germany, 1-0.
In 2019, Mexico won their 11th Gold Cup/CONCACAF Championship. They’re the winningest team in the competition’s history.
Check out the latest FIFA World Cup news and betting analysis.
- Javier Hernandez – Goals: 52
- Jared Borgetti – Goals: 46
- Cuauhtémoc Blanco – Goals: 38
- Luis Hernandez – Goals: 35
- Carlos Hermosillo – Goals: 30
Hugo Sanchez averaged a goal every other game for the Mexican national team, and he played in three separate FIFA World Cups. The forward is often considered the best Mexican player of all time, and he was an integral part of the Mexico National football team that reached the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup.
Rafael Marquez is Mexico’s best defender of all time, and he captained Mexico to a record five World Cups. In the process, he became the fourth player ever to appear in five World Cups, and he finished his Mexico career with 147 appearances.
Antonio Carbajal is nicknamed “El Cinco Copas” because he became the first player to take part in five World Cups. The goalie helped Mexico win their first-ever World Cup match in 1962, and he made 48 appearances for El Tri from 1950-1966.
Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa has made over 125 appearances since his debut for the Mexico National football team in 2005, and he stared at the 2014 World Cup. He was named Man of the Match in a 0-0 draw against Brazil and Mexico’s 2-1 loss to the Netherlands in the round of 16. He’s won four Gold Cups with Mexico.
Cuauhtémoc Blanco scored 38 goals in 120 appearances and is regarded as one of the best penalty-kick takers of all time. He became the first Mexican player to score in three different World Cups and won the Silver Ball and Silver Boot at the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Mexico National football team didn’t lose a single game in normal or extra time at the 1986 World Cup that they hosted. Fernando Quirarte and Hugo Sanchez were on target, as Mexico won their opening match 2-1 vs. Belgium. A late Paraguay goal in El Tri’s next match prevented Mexico from getting a win and they had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
A Quirarte goal was the difference in the group stage finale vs. Iraq as Mexico finished on top of Group B. Mexico defeated Bulgaria 2-0 in the round of 16 to win in the knockout stage for the first time in their history.
In the quarterfinal, Mexico played a tough West Germany team to a scoreless draw and the game stayed that way through extra time. Two El Tri players missed penalties as West Germany advanced with a 4-1 shootout victory.
The successes of 1986 were a far cry from the failures of 1978. Mexico were dreadful at Argentina ‘78 and lost all three of their group stage matches by a multi-goal margin. That includes a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of West Germany. Overall, Mexico finished with a -10 goal difference, their worst ever at a World Cup.

Mexico Soccer Leagues & Clubs:
Liga MX:
The most popular league for Mexican soccer betting is Liga MX. Liga MX is the top division of Mexican soccer and currently features 18 teams across the country. The league is split into two phases, the Apertura and Clausura. The Apertura typically runs from July to December and the teams play each other once. At the end of the round, the top four teams qualify for the quarterfinal playoffs. Meanwhile, the rest of the top twelve qualify for the play in round. After the play-in round, the playoffs, or liguilla, are contested in two-legged fixtures.
The winner of the tournament is crowned the champion of the Apertura. The Clausura, which is played from January to May, follows the same structure as the Apertura. Mexican football is unique in the sense that two champions are crowned each season. Relegation is also currently suspended until further notice.
Liga MX Clubs 2022-2023:
Team |
---|
América |
Atlas |
Atlético San Luis |
Cruz Azul |
Guadalajara |
Juárez |
León |
Mazatlán |
Monterrey |
Necaxa |
Pachuca |
Puebla |
Querétaro |
Santos Laguna |
Tijuana |
Toluca |
UANL |
UNAM |
Liga de Expansión MX:
The traditional second division in Mexico, the Ascenso MX, folded due to the Coronavirus pandemic. So the new second division Mexican soccer league is called the Liga de Expansión MX. There are currently 18 teams in the league, like in Liga MX. The league follows a similar structure to Liga MX, with Apertura and Clausura tournaments. The two champions from the Apertura and Clausura meet in the “Campeón de Campeones” to determine a final champion. Promotion is rumored to be on the horizon but there’s currently no opportunity for clubs to advance to Liga MX.
Liga de Expansión MX Clubs 2022-2023:
Team |
---|
Atlante |
Atlético La Paz |
Atlético Morelia |
Cancún |
Celaya |
Durango |
Pumas Tabasco |
Oaxaca |
Raya2 |
Sinaloa |
Sonora |
Tapatío |
Tepatitlán |
Tlaxcala |
UAT |
U. de G. |
Venados |
Zacatecas |
Mexico Cups & Tournaments
The Campeón de Campeones is an annual match that features the Liga MX Apertura champions vs. the Liga MX Clausura champions. This is quite a popular match for Mexico soccer betting and the winner advances to the Campeones Cup vs. the MLS Cup champion.
The Leagues Cup was initially a tournament between four teams from MLS and four from Liga MX. Starting in 2023, the Leagues Cup will include all of Mexico’s soccer teams from Liga MX. It also includes all MLS teams from the USA. The tournament format will be a round-robin group stage and knockout stage. The top two teams from each three-team group will advance to the single-elimination knockout stage. Meanwhile, the highest-ranked Apertura or Clausura champions from Liga MX and MLS Cup champions will earn a bye to the knockout stage. The tournament will take place from July to August.
Mexico doesn’t have a traditional Super Cup competition because there is no Mexican Cup tournament. Instead, the Campeón de Campeones functions as a de-facto Super Cup. In an international supercup, the Campeón de Campeones from Liga MX takes on the MLS Cup winners in a single match. MLS teams have won the last three Campeones Cups heading into 2023.
Mexico Soccer Betting Information:
Betting on the Mexico Soccer
Mexican soccer betting is most commonly done on Liga MX. The league is also the most-watched league in the USA. The level of play is quite high for a league in the Americas and it’s considered the best league in North America. It’s also an intriguing league for betting. While MLS runs throughout the Summer, Liga MX nearly mirrors the typical European Tournaments calendar. There are a lot of wrinkles in the league that present opportunities for betting.
A team’s performance can wildly vary in the Apertura and Clausura phases of the season and a team rarely wins both. While the MLS has the MLS Cup playoffs once each season, Liga MX contests two different playoff tournaments throughout the season. That means plenty of games, drama and two different champions. America, Guadalajara and Toluca are the three clubs with ten or more Liga MX titles. Still, seven other clubs have won at least five championships. So, there is a considerable level of parity, especially when taking into account the randomness of playoff tournaments.
The league leans towards the defensive side, with 2.39 goals per game in the 2021-22 season. Two or fewer goals were scored 56 percent of the time and just 21 percent of matches had four or more goals. Home teams had a sizable but not massive advantage in 2021-22. They won 40 percent of the time, drew 30 percent of their matches and lost 30 percent of them as well. 1-1 scorelines were quite frequent in 2021-22 as they happened nearly 15 percent of the time. Clean sheets were relatively common and happened in 59 percent of matches in 2021-22.
Mexico National Team Betting Tips & Odds
The next coach of El Tri faces a daunting challenge, but with new blood and young talents, Mexico's future shines bright.
The Mexico national team entered 2023 without a coach. Gerardo “Tata” Martino was dismissed after a disappointing group-stage World Cup exit. Betting tips usually recommend picking Mexico to qualify for the round of 16. However, they failed to get out of the group stage for the first time since 1978. Mexico’s decline was evident in their World Cup Qualifying campaign as well. In their last three campaigns, they averaged 1.85 goals per game and never had below a +15 goal difference. In 2022, though, Mexico scored just 17 goals in 14 qualifiers, with a +9 goal difference.
Lacking creativity at times, the next coach of El Tri has a difficult task ahead of them. With players like Guillermo Ochoa, Hector Moreno, Hector Herrera, Andres Guardado and Raul Jimenez aging, new blood will need to be infused into the team. There are plenty of young talents to call on, but it may take some time for a new coach to find their best lineup. In any case, Mexico will automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup as a co-host. Mexico has qualified in their last nine tries anyway.
Before their World Cup disappointment, El Tri were runners-up in their last two tournament appearances. They lost to the USA in both the 2019-20 CONCACAF Nations League and the 2021 Gold Cup final. They should be motivated to perform well in the next editions of both tournaments and are always considered title contenders for any CONCACAF honor. Players like Edson Alvarez, Oreblin Pineda, Uriel Antuna and Hirving Lozano are set to play big roles for years to come.
Summary
Liga MX is an excellent league for informed soccer punters. The structure of the league is unique and lends itself to a lot of upsets and betting opportunities. With two playoff tournaments each season, what’s not to love?
Mexico’s national team is currently going through a difficult period but things can certainly change quickly. Even though they failed to qualify for the round of 16 at Qatar 2022, they only missed out on goal difference. The base of a solid roster is there and in time, Mexico can be a dominant force again.