Top 10 Moments in Mexico's Football History

The history of Mexican football has had several episodes, many of them have made ​​us vibrate and overwhelm a country that lives for soccer.

Regardless of fans' ages, the most important chapters of national soccer have been passed from generation to generation. This has fostered respect for the jersey and unbridled passion for the team.

First Point in a World Cup

When Mexico went to compete in Sweden 1958, the team already had three World Cup appearances: Uruguay 1930, Brazil 1950 and Switzerland 1954, but the squad had never won a single point.

But things were about to change. El Tri was loosing 1-0 to Wales after 88 minutes of game, but then came Jaime Belmonte, who scored in the 89th to tie the match and give Mexico its first point in a World Cup.

Belmonte was called Heroe de Solna (Solna Heroe) since the match was held, precisely, in the Solna Municipality.

First Victory in a World Cup

After grabbing its first point in Sweden 1958, Mexico qualified for Chile 1962 after defeating Paraguay in a playoff.

Once in the World Cup, El Tri had lost its first couple of games, against Brazil (2-0) and Spain (1-0); the third one didn't start well either.

Czechoslovakia scored after one minute of play, but Isidoro El Chololo Díaz went to tie the game at the 12th. Mexico attacked constantly, until Alfredo del Águila robbed the ball and after an individual effort sent the ball to net.

El Tri wasn't done yet. Before the end of the game, a Czech player handled the ball in the goal area. The resulting penalty kick was converted by Héctor Hernández, securing Mexico's first victory in a World Cup, 3-1.

First-Time World Cup Host

In 1968 Mexico hosted the Olympic Games, which promoted the construction of new sporting facilities. This, of course, helped the country in organizing its first World Cup.

This tournament left great memories, some of them include being the first World Cup held outside Europe and South America, the first to be broadcasted in color and the first in which a team was eliminated on goal difference (Sweden).

It's also remembered for hosting the Game of the Century, at the Estadio Azteca, in which Italy defeated West Germany 4-3; five of the seven goals were scored in extra time.

For the country, hosting a World Cup certainly boosted the passion for football, especially in the cities that were chosen as venues: Mexico City (Estadio Azteca), Guadalajara (Estadio Jalisco), Toluca (Estadio Luis Dosal), Puebla (Estadio Cuauhtémoc) and León (Estadio Nou Camp).

First Quarter-Finals

Despite the love for football and the fans' passion, El Tri had never qualified for the knockout stage, but in Mexico 1970 history was about to change.

The local team tied the first match, against the Soviet Union; seven days later, Los Verdes defeated El Salvador 4-0. Mexico had to win the final match to advance, for the first time, to the quarter-finals.

In a very tough game against Belgium, Mexico needed a penalty kick to accomplish the feat, which resulted in a party that included a gathering of thousands of fans around El Ángel de la Independencia (The Angel of Independence).

Second-Time World Cup Host

Mexico became the first country to host two World Cups, after Colombia announced that it couldn't afford the costs of hosting the event.

El Tri advanced to quarter-finals for the second time in history, but this time as the best of their group. The fans introduced La Ola (the wave), which still stands in stadiums all around the world.

If the 1970 World Cup had been spectacular with Brazil displaying its very best, 16 years later Argentina introduced one of the best players ever, Diego Armando Maradona, who scored the Hand of God goal against England.

Meanwhile, the local team defeated Bulgaria in the Round of 16, but lost to West Germany in the quarter-finals in a match that was defined by penalty kicks. The Europeans scored four times, while Mexico only converted once.

Copa América Runner-Up

Mexico was invited to participate for the first time in the Copa América in 1993.

The group stage was a mess for El Tri, after losing 2-1 to Colombia, tying 1-1 to Argentina and winning 1-0 against Bolivia.

Nonetheless, the team advanced to the next stage as one of the best third places of the event. Mexico beat Peru 4-2, and then defeated Ecuador 2-0 in the semi-finals.

El Tri faced Argentina in the final match. Los Verdes fought hard to stay in the game, but la Albiceleste had a powerful offense led by Gabriel Batistuta, who scored both Argentinean goals to grab the title, 2-1.

The team's performance was superb after the group stage and marked the beginning of a new era.

USA 1994

After missing the 1990 World Cup, due to a sanction for using players over the age limit in the 1989 FIFA Youth World Championship, Mexico went to prepare a new generation of footballers for USA 1994.

El Tri started the tournament with a defeat against Norway, leaving the team with no option but to win the next match. With a couple of goals by Luis García, Mexico beat the Republic of Ireland 2-1.

The next test was Italy. As expected, Los Verdes played at their best and managed to tie the game, which guaranteed them a place in the round of 16. This marked the first time the squad advanced to the knock-out stage in a World Cup held outside Mexico.

Unfortunately, El Tri lost to Bulgaria in penalty shoot-out (3-1).

Confederations Cup Champions

In 1999, Mexico became the only Confederations Cup host to win the tournament.

During the group stage, El Tri won matches against Saudi Arabia (5-1) and Bolivia (1-0) and tied with Egypt (1-1).

Mexico advanced as the best of its group and faced the United States in the semi-finals. After 90 minutes the match was tied at zero and went to overtime.

Cuauhtémoc Blanco scored a golden goal in the 97th, securing Mexico a place in the final stage, where they beat Brazil.

Once again, it was Blanco who led the team. Los Verdes were already winning 3-2, but Cuauhtémoc took advantage of a counterattack, dribbled the goalkeeper and scored with his left leg to secure the victory.

2005 Confederations Cup

This is one of Mexico's best performances in the history. The first team is very successful when facing Concacaf rivals, but when it comes to European and South American teams, El Tri doesn't have as much luck.

In 2005, Mexico faced some of the best teams in the world, showing great level and discipline.

Players like Francisco Kikín Fonseca, Jared Borgetti, Antionio Naelson Sinha, Carlos Salcido, Ricardo Osorio, Pável Pardo and Luis Pérez were amongst one of the best generations of Mexican footballers, all led by manager Ricardo Lavolpe.

Los Verdes defeated Japan and Brazil, and tied against Greece in the group stage. Then, in the semi-finals, the squad lost to Argentina in penalty shoot-out.

But El Tri had a chance to grab the third place in the match against the local team. In one of the most exciting matches of the tournament, Michael Ballack scored in overtime, leaving Mexico in the fourth place.

Nevertheless, this was a great opportunity for Pável Pardo, Kikín Fonseca, Ricardo Osorio and Carlos Salcido, who caught the attention of several European clubs. All of them left Mexico after the 2006 World Cup.

Under-17 FIFA World Champions

Mexico did it for the first time in Peru 2005. No one knew the players and there was little interest in the group stage.

The squad played the quarter-finals after finishing in second place of its group. The whole country started to dream after the national squad beat Costa Rica in overtime with goals from Guzmán and Carlos Vela.

Netherlands was the next rival. Mexico played its best to defeat the European team 4-0. In the final match, El Tri dominated Brazil 3-0 to hoist the cup.

Six years later, another superb generation gave happiness to a country that has never tasted such glory with the first team.

Mexico hosted the tournament and its team went to win the three matches of the group stage, then defeated every rival of the knock-out stage, including Panama, France and Germany, before beating Uruguay at the Estadio Azteca.

More than 105,000 fans lived one of Mexico's greatest football moments. Some of them even wore bandages on the head to honor Julio Gómez, who scored the winning goal in the semi-final against Germany.