Mexico

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Soccer played in Mexico was first played in the twentieth century, by European immigrants, particularly mining workers who came from Cornwall, England, and later Spanish exiles fleeing from the Spanish Civil War.

Mexico's opening match was against Guatemala in which Mexico was able to win by a score of 3-2. The series of international friendly games were played against Guatemala's representative of the national team of Guatemala on the 9th, 12th as well as 16 Dec 1923. The match on December 9 was played at Parque Espana which Mexico won with a score of 2-1. On December 12, the match ended with an 2-0 victory for Mexico and last game in the match ended in 3-3 draw. The manager of this team is Rafael Garza Gutierrez.

It would take four years before Mexico's national team was included in international friendlies. On the 19th of June 1927, Mexico played Spain and drew 3-3. In this match the team also played their Uruguayan side Nacional de Montevideo, losing 3-3.

In 1927 the official soccer governing body in Mexico was established. In 1928, the Summer Olympics represented Mexico's first international competition in which Mexico was defeated by Spain 1-7 in the round of 16.

Mexico was a participant at that 1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay in Uruguay, which was held alongside Argentina, Chile, and France. Mexico played in the very first World Cup match ever, which ended in a 4-1 loss against France which included Mexico's debut World Cup goal by Juan Carreno. In their second game, Mexico fell to Chile 3-1. The third game, which Mexico played against Argentina included an early penalty in this tournament struck in Mexico by Manuel Rosas.

Mexico was not a participant in the FIFA World Cup tournament until the 1950 World Cup. Prior to 1970 Mexico had a difficult time making significant progress in that World Cup. It was the strongest team of the North American Football Confederation and its successor, CONCACAF, but found it difficult to compete with European or South American teams. However the Goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal has the distinction of being the first athlete ever to be a part of the five successive World Cups.

The year was 1965 and Mexico was crowned champions at the CONCACAF Championship to become continental champions for the first time.

It was in 1970 that Mexico was the host of 1970's World Cup and began their tournament by drawing a scoreless game in the match against Soviet Union. It was followed by winning 4-0 against El Salvador. Mexico made it into the next round thanks to an impressive win over Belgium. In the quarter-finals, Mexico was eliminated by Italy defeating 4-1.

Mexico did not qualify for in 1974's World Cup, but did make it to the finals in 1978. Mexico had to leave early following three losses in the form of 0-6 against West Germany, 1-3 against Tunisia and 1-3 against Poland. Mexico was not able to make it to in 1982 for the World Cup.

The year 1986 was the one when Mexico once again played host to this year's World Cup. Under the direction of Bora Milutinovic Mexico were placed into Group B. They defeated Belgium by 2-1, draw 1-1 with Paraguay and beat Iraq by 1-0. Thanks to this win, Mexico won the top position in the group and went on to the next round , where they beat Bulgaria by 2-0. In the quarter-finals, Mexico lost to West Germany 4-4 during a shoot-out for penalties following the match ended in with a 0-0 score.

Mexico was exempted from participation in at the time of 1990's FIFA World Cup (and other international tournaments) because of the use of players above the age limit during the qualifying round of in 1989's FIFA World Youth Championship, called"the "Cachirules" controversy. The sanction was imposed on all Mexico national teams in any FIFA sanctioned tournaments.

In the 1990s following the having hired the coach Cesar Luis Menotti Mexican soccer began to see more international success. In 1993's Copa America they finished second but lost to Argentina by 2-1 during the championship.

In 1994, at the FIFA World Cup, Mexico took the group title by tiebreakers, gaining an group that included Italy, Ireland, and Norway. But, Mexico lost in the second round to Bulgaria with penalty kicks.

In 1998, at the FIFA World Cup, Mexico was placed in a group alongside Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea and Belgium. Mexico defeated South Korea in their first match with a score of 3-1 over South Korea. Mexico played Belgium at 2-2 and the Netherlands also drew 2-2 which qualified them to play in the Round of 16. In the final Round, Mexico was defeated 2-1 by Germany.

It was 1999 when Mexico was the first nation to win a FIFA tournament, becoming an inaugural host country to take home the FIFA Confederations Cup. Mexico beat Mexico by a score of 1-0, the United States 1-0 in the semifinals and defeated 1998 World Cup runners-up Brazil 4-3 in the final.

Mexico has been placed into Group G of the 2002 World Cup alongside Italy, Croatia, and Ecuador. Mexico began with a 1-0 victory over Croatia. In the second game, Mexico earned a 2-1 victory against Ecuador. Mexico also managed to secure an 1-1 draw against Italy. In the 16th round, Mexico played rivals United States in the round of 16, losing 2 to 0.

Mexico had been one of the eight teams that were seeded for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Mexico was part of the group D together with Iran, Angola and Portugal. Mexico defeated their first match by 3-1 against Iran. In their next match, Mexico played to a 1-1 draw with Angola. Mexico was in the round-of-16 even though they lost to Portugal 1-1. Mexico also suffered another round of 16 defeat and this time, it was Argentina with a score of losing 2-1. The coach of Mexico Ricardo Lavolpe stepped down after the tournament and was replaced by Hugo Sanchez.

After losing the final game at the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup 1-2 against the United States, Mexico successfully recovered in 2007's Copa America. Starting by winning against Brazil by 2-0, they later beat Ecuador in a tie with Chile to be the first group in. In the quarterfinals, Mexico defeated Paraguay with a score of 6-0, before losing in the semi-finals, 3-0, to Argentina. Mexico took third place against Uruguay with a 3-1 win.

The tournament was held in July 2009. Mexico was awarded their sixth Gold Cup, and eighth CONCACAF Championship overall, after defeating America 5-0 in the final. United States 5-0 in the final.

Mexico was selected for the Mexico qualified for the FIFA World Cup, where they were placed in Group A with hosts South Africa, France and Uruguay. They played 1-1 against South Africa, defeated France with 2-0 and then were defeated by 1-0 against Uruguay and then advanced through the group stage which they lost to the loss of 1-3 to Argentina.

2011. The CONCACAF Gold Cup saw Mexico triumph in their group, with three wins and zero losses. In the course of the tournament five players were tested positive for banned substance clenbuterol. They were then banned from the tournament. Mexico defeated Guatemala in the quarterfinals by a score of 2-1 and defeated Honduras by 2-0. The third year in a row the final will be contest against Mexico as well as Mexico and the United States; Mexico won the game 4-2. They was able to participate in 2014's FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil and were eliminated in the stage of group play.

Mexico finished 2nd in the group in the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and made it to the semifinals, where they played Panama. Mexico lost the game 2-1. This was their second loss against Panama during the competition, following their loss to Panama during the preliminary stage. Both losses to Panama are the very first time Panama has ever beat Mexico in an official Gold Cup match.

Mexico did not win any of the 10 matches in the final round of 2014 World Cup qualifying, but qualified to play off in the intercontinental tournament as the fourth highest-ranked side of the CONCACAF region. They beat New Zealand 9-3 on aggregate to be able to participate in a sixth straight World Cup. The team made it to in the 16th round but they were defeated by 2-1 against the Netherlands.

In the 2014 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Mexico was part of Group C with Triniad and Tobago, Cuba and Guatemala. Mexico finished second in their group and also won the quarterfinal match with Costa Rica and semifinal against Panama and Panama, both in controversial circumstances. Mexico took home their first Gold Cup after defeating Jamaica 3-1 in the final. A few days after the final match, Miguel Herrera was released as coach of Mexico's national team following an incident that was alleged to have involved physical violence in a dispute with TV Azteca announcer Christian Martinoli. 10 October was the day that Mexico beat their opponents the United States 3-2 to win the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF Cup, thus earning the right to compete in for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. In the next months, Juan Carlos Osorio was appointed Mexico's 16th manager to replace the interim director Ricardo Ferretti.

Mexico began at the Copa America Centenario, hosted in the United States, on a 13-match streak of unbeaten play that began in July of 2015. El Tri placed first in Group C, with a 3-1 win against Uruguay and 2 -0 over Jamaica and draw 1-1 with Venezuela. In the quarterfinals against Chile located in Santa Clara, California, El Tri lost 7-0 and ended the streak of 16 consecutive wins after nearly a full year. Following the game, coach Osorio apologized to Mexican supporters for what he called an "embarrassment or a mistake in football".

In the 2017 Confederations Cup, Mexico was placed in Group A alongside Portugal, New Zealand, and hosts Russia. El Tri advanced as runners-up of the group, but was defeated 4-1 by Germany during the semifinals. Mexico ended up 4th in the competition, falling the match 2-1 in the final against Portugal at the end of the 3rd place game.

In their first match at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Mexico defeated champion Germany by virtue of one goal scored by Hirving Lozano for the first time ever in an actual World Cup match. Mexico would then beat South Korea 2-1 in the next match, thanks to goals scored by Carlos Vela and Javier Hernandez however, they would lose 3-1 to Sweden in their final group stage game. Despite losing, Mexico qualified to the round of 16 in the seventh time in a row. At the end of round 16 Mexico was defeated by 0-2 Brazil and the loss was the seventh time in consecutive tournaments, Mexico failed to reach the quarterfinals since hosting in the World Cup in 1986. On the 28th of July, Juan Carlos Osorio left as the head coach following the day of the contract's expiration.

In January of this year, Gerardo Martino was appointed as Mexico's new coach, making him the 3rd Argentine to head the Mexican national team. In the Gold Cup tournament, they triumphed in the three group stage matches they lost to Costa Rica in penalties 5-4 after a draw of 1-1 in the quarter-final , and then defeated Haiti during the semifinal. Mexico took home in the Gold Cup after defeating the United States 1-0 in the final.

The Estadio Azteca is also called as in Spanish in Spanish as "El Coloso of Santa Ursula" was constructed in the year 1966. It is the home for Mexico's national team. Mexico national team and also the home of the Mexican soccer side Club America. Its capacity is of 87,523, which makes it the largest stadium specifically designed for football within the Americas and the third biggest stadium in the world for this sport. The stadium was the site of it's first FIFA World Cup Final in 1970 and 1986.

Friendly games hosted by the Mexico national team typically occur in stadiums across the United States as well as all over Mexico such as the Azteca.

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The Mexico national team is traditionally based on the tricolor scheme, which is comprised of white shirts, green shirts shorts, and red socks that are derived from the flag of the nation of Mexico also commonly referred to as the tricolor. The mid-1950s were the last time Mexico used to wear a mostly maroon uniform, with dark blue or black shorts.

As of 2015 Adidas introduced a fresh all-black Mexico national kit. Red, white, and green remain as the primary colors.

In 2017 the Mexico national jerseys were updated so that they reflected the team's Spanish names correctly written and with the diacritic mark.

Mexico as well as both the United States are widely considered as the top two nations in CONCACAF. The match between the two countries frequently draw the attention of media, as well as public interest , and discussion in both nations. Though the first game was played in 1934 the rivalry between them was not thought to be significant until the end of the 1990s after which the USA became a dominant international team. On the 15th of August, 2012 America won the match. United States defeated Mexico at Estadio Azteca in the first victory of Mexico by the U.S. against Mexico on Mexican soil for 75 years.

Since their first encounter in 1934 both teams have played at least 73 times in all, with Mexico winning the overall series by 36-22-15 (W-L-D) beating the U.S. by 144-82. Mexico was dominant in the beginning and had a record of 22-2-2 from the year 1980. Since then, it has grown more competitive, mostly due to the rapid development and popularity of soccer within the United States. Since 2000 the series has been heavily favored by US soccer U.S. 17-9-6 (W-L-D) in which Mexico defeated 32-40. Since 2011, the rivalry has been characterized by Mexican successes, with the Mexico team defeating their counterparts from the United States in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final in 2011 and to win the CONCACAF Cup in 2015, winning on American ground in the very first time since the year 1980. However, in 2021, Mexico was defeated by United States in the United States in both the Nations League final and the Gold Cup final.

Mexico's games are broadcast live on the over-the-air broadcasting networks Televisa as well as TV Azteca in Mexico. in the United States all of Mexico's international friendly matches and the home World Cup qualifiers are shown on Spanish television channel Univision and the away World Cup qualifiers are shown on Telemundo. On the 30th of January, 2013 English broadcaster ESPN and Univision signed an agreement to air the Mexico national team's in their home World Cup qualifiers and international friendly matches in English in the United States.

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Mexico's fans are well-known for their "!eeeh puto! " that is usually shouted when a goalie of an opponent is about to execute the goal kick.

The chant's origins is believed to have begun in the 80s in Monterrey where , during small league American football matches fans would chant "!eeeh pum!" at the beginning of kickoffs. The chant is not meant to be disparaging or slammed as the word "pum" is believed to refer to an influence of some kind. Although the current version that the song is believed to have been conceived of as having originated in the period between 2001 and 2003, by fans of Atlas F.C. in the past Atlas goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez, no reliable sources are available to back this assertion, and is considered to be an urban myth. The first time that we have seen puto being performed from fans using this way was recorded on May 22nd 2004 in the second game of the Clausura 2004 repechage game against Cruz Azul and C.F. Pachuca. The fans of Pachuca frequently chanted "Puto" every moment Oscar Perez performed a goal kick.

Because of the homophobic connotations that the term puto has to mean homophobic in Mexican Spanish (a vulgar term for prostitutes of males) The chant was met with criticism during this year's FIFA World Cup. Mexican fans have defended it, citing it as being a common occurrence within the Liga MX. On June 23, 2014, FIFA dismissed an investigation concluding that the song "was not considered offensive in the context of the particular incident". Football Against Racism in Europe, an organization that fights discrimination and a critic of the decision, described the ruling in the press as "disappointing". In the year 2017 in advance of the 2018 World Cup, FIFA fined the Mexico football federation for fans who chanted the song and also introduced sanctions that escalated, that were first used during Liga MX games in 2019. In 2021 three Mexico international matches played in Mexico's United States were halted because of fan behavior and included those in the CONCACAF Nations League final, during which fans throwing objects onto the pitch as well. Giovanni Reyna was hit in the face by a large object. On June 18, 2021 FIFA declared that as an apprehension for the usage of the chant during the pre-Olympics event in Guadalajara fans were barred from Mexico's initial two qualifying games for the 2022 World Cup.

The following matches have been played within the past 12 months.

As of 7 January 2019

Position	Name
Manager	Gerardo Martino
Assistant Manager	Jorge Theiler
Assistant Manager	Norberto Scoponi
Assistant Manager	Sergio Giovagnoli
Goalkeeping Coach	Gustavo Piñero
Fitness Coach	Juan Manuel Alfano
Fitness Coach	Rodolfo Paladini

Caps and goals correct as of 31 August 2022, after the match against Paraguay.

The following players were called up for the international friendly matches against Peru and Colombia on 24 and 27 September 2022.

Caps and goals correct as of 31 August 2022, after the match against Paraguay.

The following players have been called up within the last 12 months.

As of 5 June 2022

Players in bold are still active with Mexico.

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• FIFA World Cup
  • Quarter-finals (2): 1970, 1986
• FIFA Confederations Cup
  • Champions (1): 1999
  • Third place (1): 1995
• CONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup
  • Champions (11): 1965, 1971, 1977, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2019
  • Runners-up (3): 1967, 2007, 2021
  • Third place (5): 1973, 1981, 1991, 2013, 2017
• CONCACAF Nations League
  • Runners-up (1): 2019–20
• Copa América
  • Runners-up (2): 1993, 2001
  • Third place (3): 1997, 1999, 2007

• Panamerican Championship
  • Third place (1): 1960
• Central American and Caribbean Games
  • Champions (2): 1935, 1938
• CONCACAF Cup
  • Champions (1): 2015
• CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament
  • Champions (3): 1964, 1972, 1976
• U.S. Cup
  • Champions (3): 1996, 1997, 1999
  • Third place (2): 1995, 2000
• Marlboro Cup
  • Champions (1): 1989
• NAFC Championship / North American Nations Cup
  • Champions (3): 1947, 1949, 1991
  • Runners-up (1): 1990
• Lunar New Year Cup
  • Champions (1): 1999
  • Runners-up (1): 2000