Mexico thrash Iceland in friendly, pay tribute to their armed forces | OneFootball

With players from the local league, the Mexico National Team thrashed Iceland 4-0 this Wednesday in a friendly match as preparation for the 2026 World Cup. The match took place at La Corregidora Stadium in Querétaro, where the Mexican armed forces were honored.

Coach Javier “El Vasco” Aguirre started with a lineup featuring six players (out of seven called up) from Chivas Guadalajara, who currently lead the local Clausura 2026 tournament.

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“What I liked most was the boldness, the attitude, and the connection with the people,” commented Aguirre. “I’m leaving happy overall. Besides the result, I’m very pleased to see players stepping up.”

“It was complicated to find an ideal collective performance, and individually we took note of some positive things. We still have five matches left to define the 26 players who will represent us at the World Cup,” the coach highlighted.

“El Vasco” celebrated the festive atmosphere at La Corregidora, where fans sang “Cielito Lindo” and did the “wave” in the stands.

“I told the players: ‘Look at the atmosphere.’ This is a prelude to the World Cup. This is Mexico. It’s about feeling your country, feeling your anthem. We are privileged, the World Cup will be played here,” said Aguirre.

The Match

Richard Ledezma, Armando “La Hormiga” González, and Brian Gutiérrez — the three Chivas players — scored in the 22nd, 54th, and 90+2 minutes. Jesús Gallardo, from Toluca, who played in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, also scored in the 59th minute.

Ledezma, 26, played his second match for the Mexican national team and scored his first goal. In 2020, the defender played a friendly for the United States senior team, the country where he was born, but chose to play for Mexico permanently with FIFA’s authorization.

“La Hormiga” González, 22 years old and the current top scorer in the Mexican league, scored his first goal for the national team against Iceland in his fourth match. Brian Gutiérrez also netted his first goal in his third appearance with “El Tri.” The midfielder also chose to represent Mexico after playing a few minutes in two friendlies with the United States in 2025.

Mexico’s next World Cup preparation match will be against Portugal, at the reopening of the Azteca Stadium, on March 28.

Security Context and Tribute

In the hours leading up to the match, the National Guard Army and Querétaro state police secured the stadium’s surroundings as a precaution following the wave of violence that erupted in Mexico on Sunday, due to the death of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader, Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho.”

The stadium recorded an attendance of over 30,000 fans, who, minutes before the match, observed a minute of silence and paid tribute to the members of the Mexican armed forces who fell during the operation in which the drug trafficker was killed.

*With content from AFP.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.