- - Mexico's World Cup draw brings nostalgia, memories ... and a tough path to the vaunted quinto partido

Jon ArnoldDecember 6, 2025 at 12:22 AM

0

Mexico is a country where soccer is linked to nostalgia. Fans tune in for the present, but conversation inevitably drifts to days gone by, of remembering some guys of the glory days.

So, when Friday's World Cup draw produced an opening game against South Africa, just like in 2010 when Bafana Bafana hosted, and a second group game against South Korea, just like in 2018, it brings up lots of memories.

The question is whether or not Mexico will return to the good ol' days of always getting out of the group.

El Tri had become fixtures in the World Cup knockout round, though not in the quarterfinals, advancing to every Round of 16 since the 1994 tournament until the nightmare of 2022. Now, with the World Cup expanded and taking place in part on home soil, El Tri want to win that quinto partido — and go even further.

But can they do so with this draw?

The past meetings stick in the mind, though only super fans will remember a 1995 Confederations Cup match against potential UEFA playoff winner Denmark. North Macedonia, Czechia and the Republic of Ireland also are potential UEFA entrants into Group A, with a playoff in March deciding who advances. The memories of Siphiwe Tshabalala scoring and Rafa Marquez equalizing in 2010 or of the convincing El Tri win over Korea in 2018 after that tournament-opening shock over Germany bring a smile to the face.

What matters now, though, is the present.

Mexico’s present looked bright in the summer, after El Tri won the Gold Cup, confirming they were the best team in CONCACAF after having lifted the Nations League trophy for the first time in March. The Gold Cup final triumph, a come-from-behind victory against the U.S., stands as Mexico’s last win. Javier Aguirre’s side failed to win any of the six friendly matches it played this fall. That has plenty of fans concerned as the team heads into 2026.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum holds up Mexico after drawing from a pot the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP) ()

The draw won’t do much to allay those concerns. While the margin of error is wider, since the third-place team from some groups will advance in the expanded World Cup format, Mexico looks to have the toughest draw of the three hosts.

Even after being penalized for fielding an ineligible player, South Africa topped a World Cup qualification group that also included contenders Nigeria and Benin — though getting to play "away" qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe was a huge advantage afforded to few other teams. Their back line, generally with center-back pairing Siyabonga Ngezana and Mbekezeli Mbokazi, was stingy and may pose problems against a Mexico attack that has lacked a punch or relied on teenager Gilberto Mora to create scoring opportunities.

Korea and Mexico enjoyed a soccer brotherhood in 2018 after Kim Young-gwon and Son Heung-min’s stoppage time goals helped Mexico clinch passage to the knockout stage despite a 3-0 loss to Sweden. The good vibes only continued with Son arriving in Los Angeles to join LAFC, a club with a large Mexican fan base, this summer.

Yet, with right back a huge question mark for Aguirre going into the tournament, El Tri fans will be much less enthused to see Son than they were eight years prior. Defending against speedy wingers who are good on the ball is not something Mexico will want to do, but it won’t have a choice in Guadalajara.

And whether Denmark, North Macedonia, Czechia or the Republic of Ireland come through the UEFA playoff, it will be a team with talents based in some of Europe’s strongest leagues.

Even in an expanded World Cup field where a true Group of Death is harder to define, this is a challenging path.

Yet for all the admonishments to beware of these teams, El Tri have plenty of positives as well.

The center-back pairing of Johan Vazquez and Cesar Montes should have South Africa locked down, with Edson Alvarez starting attacks in front of them. Mora is a generational talent who has been up to every moment he’s faced thus far. And while their form has waned, forwards Raul Jimenez and Santi Gimenez certainly could rip off a run of goals and give Mexico a pair of great finishers up top.

Mexico has a path to getting fans talking less about the glory days and more about what this generation can achieve — cementing a place in the national memory for decades to come. But they learned Friday that it might not be as easy as they once hoped.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Sports”