🇲🇽 Mexico boast strong record against World Cup rivals | OneFootball

The Mexican national team, co-host of the tournament, already knows part of its fate in the 2026 World Cup. It leads Group A and will face South Africa, South Korea, and the winner of the UEFA playoff, which will come from a group that includes Denmark, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland.

The group composition gives Mexico the chance to relive two World Cup encounters and prepare for a European challenge.

South Africa and a sweet World Cup memory

The match against South Africa will have a particularly emotional component, as it will be the opening game of the competition. This encounter is a rematch of the start of the 2010 World Cup, when both countries faced off in Johannesburg, and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

📸 ROBERTO SCHMIDT

This is the only previous World Cup meeting between the two teams; therefore, the opening match of the 2026 World Cup presents the perfect opportunity for 'El Tri' to break that historical deadlock.

South Korea, a favorable opponent for Mexico

The rivalry with South Korea is more recent and favorable to the Mexicans. Mexico and the Asian side have faced each other in two World Cups, with two victories for 'El Tri'.

📸 Marcus Brandt - Bongarts

The first encounter was in France 1998, with a 3-1 win for Mexico, and the most recent match took place in Russia 2018, which ended 2-1. The record is entirely positive, providing a solid base of confidence for the North American team.

Ireland, the only possible opponent with history

The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of the UEFA playoff. If the opponent is Denmark or North Macedonia, the match will be unprecedented in the tournament. However, if the qualifier is the Republic of Ireland, Mexico already has a precedent: 'El Tri' defeated them 2-1 in the group stage of the 1994 World Cup in the United States. For its part, the national team has no World Cup encounters against Northern Ireland.

📸 Ben Radford

With two direct opponents already known and an undefeated record against them, Mexico aims to capitalize on its status as host. The favorable record against South Korea and the pending rematch against South Africa position 'El Tri' as the favorite to secure a spot in the next round, although preparation for the European opponent will be crucial in the 2026 World Cup.

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

📸 PASCAL GUYOT