As World Cups go, this one went well for Mexico.
In some ways, Mexico can consider itself one of the winners of the 2026 World Cup, which it co-hosted with the US and Canada.
The national team lost in the Round of 16, which was a disappointment as Mexico was hoping to make it to the quarter finals for the first time since 1986 when the country hosted its second World Cup.
On the brighter side, with the added Round-of-32 this time, the team got to play five games of which it won four without conceding a goal, before losing 3-2 to England in a memorable match at the Azteca Stadium.
Where Mexico was a winner was in its hospitality, as anyone who spends time on social media might have noticed.
South Korean fans who arrived for the start of the tournament could be seen indulging in all kinds of fun with their Mexican counterparts. South Korea had beaten Germany in the 2018 World Cup, thanks to which Mexico made it past the group stage, and Mexicans haven’t forgotten that “favor.”
And the friendly exchanges among fans continued this year even though the two teams were rivals in Group A. Mexico just managed to squeeze out a 1-0 victory in their game.
The exception was in the 2-0 win over Ecuador in the round of 32. There was fighting and insults between Mexican and Ecuadorian fans after their match, and someone tossed a plastic cup of beer at the Ecuadorian press box, hitting one of its journalists in the face. In a separate incident, three people died in a crush at the Angel de la Independencia monument where many thousands of people showed up to celebrate the win.
Then came the match against England. There was a lot of talk about how the Azteca Stadium is one of the hardest to play in, particularly against Mexico. Mexico rarely loses at the stadium. The national team had only lost two official games on its home turf, and never lost a World Cup game there. (Losses to Italy in 1970 and West Germany in 1986 were played in Toluca and Monterrey, respectively.)
Major concerns were the altitude (fair enough if you’re not used to it), the heat (most US venues were much hotter than Mexico City), and a hostile atmosphere. What hostile atmosphere? was the conclusion of English players and fans alike.
The players of course expected the crowd to be against them during the match, as was the case, but spoke well of the Mexican team and the effort the England side made to come away with the win.
But before and after the game, English fans had nothing but praise for Mexico City and the stadium. Fans from both countries were seen celebrating together after the match.
One video shows a Mexican supporter giving a Merlin Duck stuffed toy (Mexico’s unofficial World Cup mascot) to an English boy inside the stadium. The event was so successful that the English Football Association is thinking of inviting Mexico to play a friendly match at Wembley in the future.
The match at the Azteca Stadium was the last of the 13 games that Mexico hosted in the 2026 World Cup, with the remaining games to be played in the US, including the final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, on Sunday, July 19.
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