Excluding Qatar 2022, which will be played from November 20 to December 18, there have been 21 editions of the FIFA World Cup in the 92-year history of the tournament. In addition to the long-established National Teams, there is one that has almost always accompanied them as a regular participant in the tournament, but without great results: Mexico National Team.
El Tri is, after Brazil, Germany, Italy and Argentina, all world champions on at least two occasions, the team that has played the FIFA World Cup the most times, with 16 participations. In Qatar 2022 they will not break with tradition and will play in the tournament for the 17th time.
Having missed only 5 editions (1934, 1938, 1974, 1982 and 1990), Mexico has played 57 matches in the FIFA World Cups, a low number considering the number of times it has played the tournament, a clear sign that its results are far from impressive. However, even in its opacity, it has players who have been able to surprise the world with their goal-scoring talent.
Mexico’s goalscoring quota at the FIFA World Cup
The great dagger that pierces the hearts of Mexican fans is that their team, El Tri, has never even been a contender for the FIFA World Cup title. There is a sobering statistic that makes this clear: Mexico is the third-highest scorer in the history of the tournament with 98 goals conceded in 57 matches played.
In terms of offensive output, the Mexican team has only scored 60 goals. Never in the history of the FIFA World Cups has a player from El Tri been the top scorer in an edition. Likewise, none of its players has been able to score more than one goal in consecutive editions played.
That is why those players who have stood out for their goals are so valued and respected in the history of the Mexico National Team. Below, discover the players who have scored the most goals in World Cups with the Mexican team’s jersey.
Antonio Naelson, one of the two non-born in Mexico who have scored in a World Cup for El Tri. (Ben Radford/Getty Images)
Javier Chicharito Hernandez – 4 goals
Chicharito is not only the all-time leading scorer for the Mexican National Team with 52 goals, he is also one of the two Mexican players who have scored the most goals in World Cups. A true legend of El Tri, he carved his legacy with 2 goals in South Africa 2010, 1 in Brazil 2014 and one more in Russia 2018. Among his victims are two world champions: France and Argentina.
Javier Chicharito Hernandez, Mexico. (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Luis Hernandez – 4 goals
The famous Matador is one of the most lethal strikers in the history of Mexico. He played 2 editions of the World Cup, but scored his 4 goals in only one, France 1998 (the same amount that Brazilian Ronaldo Nazario scored in the same edition). Luis Hernandez is the Mexican with the most goals in a single edition of this tournament, and the Mexican with the best place in the scoring standingsin a single edition of a World Cup (France 1998, only surpassed by Davor Suker, 6, Gabriel Batistuta and Christian Vieri, 5).
Luis Hernandez, Mexico. (Mark Thompson /Allsport)
Rafael Marquez – 3 goals
Undoubtedly, one of the 3 best players in the history of Mexico. Marquez not only won everything with Barcelona, he entered the history books as one of the 3 players with the most World Cups played with 5, in all of them he was captain. Despite his position, defense, Marquez scored in three consecutive World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014), a feat that few players in the world have achieved.
The exact moment when Rafael Marquez scored his third World Cup goal. Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Cuauhtemoc Blanco – 3 goals
One of the last Mexican geniuses in soccer. Cuauhtémoc collects occasions in which his performance saved El Tri. He scored in all the World Cups he played in: France 1998, Korea Japan 2002, South Africa 2010. The question remains as to what would have happened if he had been called up for Germany 2006, when he was living his best moment on the field.
Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Mexico. (Clive Mason/Getty Images)
8 players – 2 goals
Until the emergence of Luis Hernandez in 1998, the highest number of goals scored by a Mexican player in World Cups was 2. Thus, since Uruguay 1930, a player from El Tri scored 2 goals; after France 1998, a couple of goals were added. The list is made up of Manuel Rosas, Javier Valdivia, Fernando Quirarte, Ricardo Pelaez, Alberto Garcia Aspe, Jared Borgetti and Omar Bravo.
Jared Borgetti, Mexico National Team. (Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
