Mexico has participated in the event since the first World Cup in 1930, participating in a total of 16 tournaments, despite three occasions (1934 (Italy), 1974 (West Germany), and 1982) in which it failed to advance to the actual finals (Spain). It also withdrew from the finals in 1938 (France) and was prohibited by FIFA from competing in the 1990 World Cup (Italy) after using players who were over the legal age limit during the 1988 Olympic Games qualifying. This was a young competition.
There are two phases of the competition: the qualifying round and the championship round (officially called the World Cup Finals). Teams are selected for the Finals based on their performance during the qualification period, which now spans the three years before the Finals. 32 teams compete for the championship under the Finals’ current format over the course of around a month at locations in the host nation (or nations). With an estimated 715.1 million spectators for the 2006 World Cup Final, it is the most-watched sporting event in the world.
Russia — Mexico is the largest loser at the World Cup, despite the fact that it doesn’t seem like it after such an outstanding start to the competition. The largest loser in recorded history, check that out. That’s correct. The squad known as El Tri, the one that presently holds the hopes of its nation’s collective happiness upon its green-and-white clad shoulders, has lost more games, more frequently, than any other team throughout the 88-year history of soccer’s greatest competition.
Hold on a second, though, before you start to believe that this is a hit piece on a squad that beat the odds to stunningly defeat the defending champion Germany in its opening game on Sunday. Statistics indicating that Mexico has tasted defeat more often than any other member of the FIFA global family are actually a story of considerable and historical success rather than a tale of failure.
Almost always, Mexico is eligible to play in the World Cup. It is in genuinely elite company given that it has taken part in 16 of the event’s 21 iterations. It last failed to qualify in 1982, withdrew in 1938, and was banned in 1990 for fielding players who were ineligible in a youth competition. Mexico has played 54 matches in their 16 tournament appearances, suffering 25 defeats.
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