After a Perfect Group Stage, Mexico Has Turned a Country of Doubters Into Believers

MEXICO CITY — The scenes of nearly half a million people celebrating the win against South Korea at the Angel of Independence in downtown Mexico City foreshadowed it. The scenes of nearly a million Mexicans celebrating at that same exact spot following the win against Czechia six midnights later confirmed it: El Tri has done it, it has the full, unconditional support of an entire country that finally, after so, so long, believes.

“We didn’t really believe [in Mexico] before the start of the World Cup,” Arturo, 37, tells Sports Illustrated before Mexico’s 3–0 win vs. Czechia. “But watching the people, the atmosphere, you get emotional and start to believe. ¿Y si sí? (What if we can?).”

¿Y si sí? has become Mexico’s de facto three-word slogan during the 2026 World Cup. First used by striker Santiago Giménez, it’s an invitation to dare to dream of the impossible. In Mexico’s case, that represents one singular thing: A maiden World Cup title.

Utopian? Maybe. But for the first time in what feels like forever, El Tri has galvanized an entire nation that has fully united for one common cause. And there’s merit behind the dream.

Mexico’s 2026 World Cup Is Already Historic

No, Mexico isn’t the most electrifying team in the 2026 World Cup, but it’s undeniably one of the most efficient. It plays to its strengths, minimizes its weaknesses and having bought in to Javier Aguirre’s pragmatic ways, it’s oozing with confidence.

For the first time in El Tri’s 18 World Cup appearances, it finished the group stage with a perfect record. Less than four years removed from a humbling group stage tournament exit in Qatar, Mexico collected nine points from nine to cruise to the knockout rounds.

But it doesn’t end there. Mexico is only the sixth nation in World Cup history and the second this century to win all of its group stage matches without conceding a goal. Mexico’s six goals in the tournament so far are more than the five combined shots on goal it allowed its three group stage foes to manufacture.

“Aguirre did it, he made Mexico play like Mallorca,” was a phrase used commonly on social media in recent weeks, alluding to the style “El Vasco” employed during his time with the La Liga side. Maybe so, but Aguirre did lead a relegation-threatened Mallorca to the 2023–24 Copa del Rey final. And after resisting it for a while, results have made Mexican supporters also get on board with Aguirre’s style.

There’s been iterations of El Tri that play a flashier brand of soccer than the current version, yet, none of them came even close to sniffing the efficiency of the 2026 Group A table-toppers.

Numbers Never Lie

Mexican supporters were dubious and uncertain about El Tri’s chances before the start of the World Cup. Once the tournament started, the volatile nature of Mexico’s fanbase was still evidenced by whistles coming from the stands at the Estadio Azteca in the opening game against South Africa and particularly with loud boos when El Tri played an uninspiring, scoreless first half against South Korea.

Still, that hint of hostility, innate to El Tri’s fanbase, didn’t translate into fans outright turning on the team. Even before the start of the 2026 World Cup, Mexican support was unparalleled.

Much has been talked about the astronomical ticket prices to attend a World Cup game this summer. Mexico’s matches were the most expensive of any team in the tournament given FIFA’s dynamic ticket pricing, with the average ticket to watch El Tri’s group stage games costing $1,848, with Portugal coming in second at $1,391.

By the second week of the tournament, when FIFA announced its official Fan Fests in Mexico, Canada and the United States had eclipsed a combined attendance of 2 million, it was those located in the biggest cities in Mexico that contributed the most.

Yes, there was hesitance from Mexico fans prior to the start of the tournament. Yes, there was whistles and booing during its first two games. But above all that, there was a desperate longing for El Tri to succeed.

“People always get very alarmed by the booing,” Miguel, 41, confesses to Sports Illustrated. “But the anthem sounds even louder, you can also hear the chants. The booing and whistles might last one minute but the chants last 80 or 90 minutes. And when Mexico score a goal … forget about it.”

In its final game of the group stage, Mexico provided the exclamation point for the foundations of a nation’s dream to become as solid as the Estadio Azteca’s groundwork.

The Win That Has A Nation Dreaming

Mexico had already won its group before taking the pitch in a somewhat meaningless game against Czechia. Aguirre heavily rotated his side given the outcome wouldn’t change a thing for El Tri. But for those that packed the Azteca four hours before kick off, it felt like the game was anything but meaningless.

Two hours before the start of the match, the nearly full Azteca stands all danced to the tune of Los Tucanes de Tijuana’s “La Chona” a popular Mexican song and the latest addition to three-time women’s Ballon d’Or Winner Aitana Bonmati’s playlist. Just before the start of the match, the entire stadium belted out David Guetta and Sia’s “Titanium” so loudly it made Stephen Bunting’s entrance at the PDC World Darts Championship dramatically pale in comparison.

The first significant boos of the night were aimed at the first hydration break, yet the jeering quickly disappeared as hundreds of supporters rushed to the nearest exit to try and follow FIFA’s lead and get in a quick hydration break of their own, refilling their cups with their drinks of choice. Booing continued during the first half, but only when Czechia recycled possession or when match referee Yael Falcón whistled a foul against Mexico.

But the second half was nothing short of a fairytale for El Tri. Three unanswered goals meant the only thing that rained down from the stands was beer, not boos. Then, to cap it all off, came the emotional farewell of Mexican legend and undisputed World Cup cult-hero Guillermo Ochoa, who played the final 12 minutes of the game in what was likely his last appearance as a professional at his record sixth tournament appearance.

A 3–0 win in a “meaningless” game sent the Azteca and an entire country into all-out celebration. It’s no exaggeration to say El Tri currently has control over Mexico. Can it be stopped? El Tri fans don’t seem to think so.

Ismael, 22, is extremely confident. “We can make the quarterfinals at the very least, at the very least,” he says. “But with a little bit of help and some luck, we can win it all. Why not?”

“We’re playing a team that we can definitely beat [in the round of 32]. Then it would be England [in the round of 16], but in this house [the Estadio Azteca], Mexico has never lost and they won’t lose here,” Enrique, 41, says, clearly forgetting the defeats against Costa Rica in 2001 and Honduras in 2013. “I see ourselves [Mexico] in the quarterfinals and then we’ll see how we do in the U.S.

“If we have to all drive around in our cars to force England to play under the smog (contamination), we’ll do it, we’ll all drive 15 laps around the Azteca so that England players can’t breath.”

First comes the round of 32 match, though, and El Tri’s historic group stage will see them host said game on Mexican soil at the Azteca on Tuesday, June 30 as a reward. The rival remains unknown, but there, Mexico will try to win only its second ever knockout round match in World Cup history—and the first in 40 years.

Importantly, it will do so with the support of an entire country that is unequivocally behind it. Suddenly, there’s no room for doubts. Suddenly, Mexico as a country is experiencing a level of unity that previously seemed unfathomable.

Suddenly, El Tri has made a nation believe. Suddenly, over 100 million Mexicans have the same dream in mind: ¿Y si sí?

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Published Jun 25, 2026 | Modified Jun 25, 2026ROBERTO CASILLAS

Roberto Casillas is a Sports Illustrated FC freelance writer covering Liga MX, the Mexican National Team & Latin American players in Europe. He is a die hard Cruz Azul and Chelsea fan.

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