Football is 'in Mexico's blood' – at this summer's World Cup co-hosted with the US and Canada, the game is about to become more powerful than ever
Mexico is preparing to host the biggest and most politicised World Cup in history – unlike its noisy neighbours to the north, above all it is a football nation..
“Everyone in Mexico just loves football. I would say it’s an integrator of society. We’ll have fun – we’ll celebrate with lots of tequila and mariachi music. ” The tournament is a chance to “show Mexico to the world”.
Alongside co-hosts Canada and the United States, Mexico will hold 16 matches across Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City. Over $12bn has been invested. Yet when it kicks off, Claudia Sheinbaum, the country’s first female President, will not be there to see it. She has delivered on a promise to give away her ticket to the opening ceremony to an indigenous woman.
Mexico’s national team tend to thrive on home soil – they reached the quarter-finals in both 1970 and 1986, tournaments they hosted. But neither had a backdrop quite like this one. The US government has tried to paint a very different picture, one of a dark underbelly in Mexico’s cities which threatened to derail the entire World Cup project.
Sheinbaum has repeatedly accused the US of political interference, suggesting American far-right groups are working alongside Mexican counterparts to undermine her administration. In January, Donald Trump threatened to send troops over the border, purportedly to tackle the cartels. The killing of drug kingpin “El Mencho” in a military operation led to a spate of violence just as Mexico was finalising its preparations to welcome a million visitors. But that is an unjust depiction, for several reasons.
Before a ball has even been kicked, tourism to Mexico is at an all-time high. The US, by contrast, is a global outlier – its own tourism industry experienced a sharp decline in 2025. In Guadalajara, homicide is down by 40 per cent and wider crime by more than 20 per cent.
“It’s not a surprise that the United States has been facing, let’s say, a challenging time – whether it’s migration politics that has affected the tourism industry overall, not only with Mexico, but with the rest of the world. There are less tourists arriving to the United States and less tourists leaving the United States.
“What we’ve been doing is to keep saying to the Americans that we’re open to receiving them, we want them. There are many Americans that are still visiting us. ” In the host cities, a party atmosphere has been building. Guadalajara, Fridman describes as “traditionally modern”, keeping its “history, tradition, and traditional food” alive, while evolving into a city ready to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors.
The raicilla – a 400-year-old tropical spirit, second only to tequila for popularity – is flowing. The elephants and capybaras at Jalisco zoo have been asked to predict results by selecting boxes of food bearing different flags. All seemed to believe Mexico will win.
South Korea vs Czechia – 11 June Uzbekistan vs Colombia – 17 June Tunisia vs Japan – 20 June Czechia vs Mexico – 24 June Round of 32 – Group A winners vs Group C/E/F/H/I third-place – 30 June Mexico arrive at this World Cup on an eight-game unbeaten run, and have an added advantage in temperatures set to soar beyond 32°C during matches. In Mexico City, players will have to run in high altitudes 7,300 feet above sea level.
Javier Aguirre, the head coach, is Mexico’s answer to Gareth Southgate, prioritising pragmatism over flair.
“The passion for the game is woven into everyday life here,” Citlalli Medina, a Mexican football expert at Mural, tells“Aguirre’s greatest strengths as a manager are not necessarily tactical. Instead they lie in his vast experience, leadership and ability to motivate players.
He is also uniquely placed to help the squad understand what it means to represent Mexico at a home World Cup, having done so himself during the 1986 tournament.do not appear to have a clearly established playing identity at the moment, which means they often rely heavily on moments of individual quality rather than a well-defined collective system. ” Mexico are still dependent on Wolves striker Raul Jimenez, now 35.
There is, nevertheless, huge excitement over 17-year-old Gilberto Mora of Tijuana, the youngest player at the tournament. Fifa insists this will be the moment when “three countries and an entire continent” produce “the best and most inclusive World Cup ever”. Along the Texan border, it has not always felt that way, the US military closing airspace over El Paso and investing in lasers to shoot down drones suspected of drug trafficking.
Tensions between the US and Mexico are not new but have been inflamed since Trump’s second term began. In Mexico, the mood is defiant. They have the World Cup’s only beach destinations, some huge knockout games and none of the aggressive searches of players’ luggage that have been witnessed as teams have begun to arrive in the US.
However many eyes are trained above the border, Mexico is ready to deliver its share of the bargain.
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