Mexico suffered a harsh 3-2 defeat against England in the Round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup, leaving them officially eliminated from the competition following a match that fully lived up to expectations as a battle to the wire.
The last time Mexico contested the famous “fifth game” was at the 1986 World Cup at home. In that tournament, fueled by its home fans and a historic generation, the squad managed to place itself among the top eight teams on the planet.
Since then, Mexico accumulated seven consecutive Round of 16 exits alongside a group-stage elimination at Qatar 2022. Now, England move forward on a complicated path to the final, where they will play their next match in the quarterfinals against Norway, who just advanced after overcoming Brazil 2-0 behind an Erling Haaland brace.
The last time Mexico reached the quarterfinals
Mexico entered the 1986 World Cup as hosts under the tactical direction of Serbian manager Bora Milutinovic. They were placed in Group B alongside Belgium, Paraguay, and Iraq. Mexico debuted with a 2-1 triumph over Belgium, later drew 1-1 with Paraguay, and closed out the group stage with a 1-0 victory against Iraq. With those results, they finished as leaders of their group to advance to the knockout stage.
Julian Quinones #16 of Mexico.
That squad featured several of the most important figures in Mexican soccer at the time, including Hugo Sanchez, Manuel Negrete, Tomas Boy, Fernando Quirarte, Javier Aguirre, Raul Servin, Luis Flores, and goalkeeper Pablo Larios, all of whom fueled the hope of an entire fanbase dreaming of making history on home soil.
On June 15, 1986, more than 110,000 fans packed the Estadio Azteca to witness the Round of 16 duel between Mexico and Bulgaria. After they won 2-0, the final whistle unleashed one of the most iconic celebrations ever seen at the Mexico City stadium.
What happened in the quarterfinals?
The last time Mexico played in the quarterfinals of a World Cup, it came against West Germany, one of the true powerhouses of world soccer. The matchup was held on June 21, 1986, at Estadio Universitario in Monterrey.
Throughout the 90 minutes of regulation and extra time, neither team managed to break the scoreless deadlock. Mexico even suffered a blow when Javier Aguirre was sent off in extra time, preventing the midfielder from participating in the penalty shootout. From the spot, Germany were clinical, winning 4-1 to advance to the semifinals.
