How many times has Mexico played in the World Cup?

The Mexico national football team represents Mexico internationally and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation. It is a member of CONCACAF.

Football was introduced in Mexico at the beginning of the twentieth century, first by the miners from Cornwall, England, and later by the Spanish immigrants. They settled in Mexico, running away from the Civil War, bringing their immense football passion.

In the year 1927, football was institutionalized with the forming of the Mexican Football Federation (Spanish: Federación Mexicana de Fútbol).

Mexico played in the inaugural match of the first World Cup, In Uruguay, against France on 13 July 1930. Mexico’s most significant success in World Cup history was reaching the quarter-finals in the 1970 and 1986 World Cups, courtesy of being organized on Mexican soil.

World Cup honors

Mexico is one of eight nations to have won two of the three most important football tournaments (the World Cup, Confederations Cup, and Summer Olympics), having won the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2012 Summer Olympics, in the latter knocking out Brazil 2-1 in the fight for the Olympic gold.

Despite Mexico being under the jurisdiction of CONCACAF, the national team was invited to contest in the Copa América from 1993 to 2016, finishing runner-up twice – in 1993 and 2001 – and getting the third-place medal three times. They have won eleven CONCACAF championships (combined Gold Cup) titles, making them historically the most successful national team in the region.

In its World Cup history, Mexico has qualified for seventeen World Cups consecutively since 1994, making it one of six countries to do so. The Mexico national team and Brazil are the only two nations to make it out of the group stage over the last seven World Cups.