Mexico's World Cup Curse Explained
While the "curse of the fifth match" is a well-known topic in Mexico itself, it's not as widely recognized in the rest of the world. The curse refers to the inability to reach the fifth match of a World Cup, which is the quarter-final stage, at least in the current 32-team format.
1994 World Cup in USA
At the 1994 World Cup in the United States, 24 national teams participated in the tournament, with 16 teams qualifying for the Round of 16, including the best third-place finishers from the group stage. Mexico was placed in Group E, one of the most unusual groups in World Cup history: it remains the only group to date where all four teams have finished with the same number of points and even the same goal difference. The Mexicans shared the group with Ireland, Italy, and Norway, achieving a record of one win (vs. Ireland), one draw (vs. Italy), and one loss (vs. Norway).With all teams having the same record and goal difference, Mexico finished in first place in the group because they scored the most goals (3). Initially, their Round of 16 matchup seemed manageable, as it was against Bulgaria. They drew 1-1 in regulation time and lost 3-1 on penalties. It's worth noting that Bulgaria achieved a historic fourth place in that edition of the World Cup. This marked the beginning of what became known as the curse of the fifth game.
1998 World Cup in France
This was the first World Cup with 32 teams, meaning only the top two from each group qualified for the Round of 16. The Mexican national team was placed in Group E, a particularly difficult group considering it included the Netherlands, Belgium, and South Korea, which, it should be noted, wasn't as strong a team as it is today.Mexico defeated the South Korea in the first round of the group stage and then drew 2-2 with both European teams. The CONCACAF team finished with 5 points, the same as the Netherlands, but goal difference favored the Oranje. Mexico was drawn against Germany in the Round of 16, and although they took an early lead with a goal from Luis Hernandez, the Germans managed to come back and win in the final 16 minutes of the match with goals from Jürgen Klinsmann and Oliver Bierhoff.
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2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan
For the South Korea/Japan World Cup, the team managed by Javier Aguirre was placed in Group G, with Italy, Ecuador, and Croatia. Mexico defeated Croatia 1-0 in their first match, then beat Ecuador 2-1, and drew 1-1 with Italy (with Jared Borgetti's historic header), already having qualified, although the Europeans were still vying for a spot in the Round of 16.As the group winner, Mexico was drawn against the second-place team, in this case, their classic regional rival, the United States. The Mexicans were a pleasant surprise, while the Americans had qualified with more difficulty, so it was expected that Aguirre's team would qualify without much trouble. However, the Americans had won four of their last five encounters, and this would be their fifth victory in six matches, as they prevailed 2-0.
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Argentina's Maxi Rodríguez eliminated Mexico in 2006
2006 World Cup in Germany
On this occasion, the team, managed by Argentine Ricardo La Volpe, arrived at the World Cup with an impressive record in three qualifying stages, achieving 15 wins and one draw in 18 matches. Mexico was placed in Group D of the tournament held in Germany, alongside Portugal, Angola, and Iran. The Mexicans began with a convincing 3-1 victory over Iran, but a 0-0 draw against Angola generated much more uncertainty than initially expected. They ultimately qualified in second place despite losing to Portugal.Fate pitted La Volpe's team against Argentina in the Round of 16, where Mexico played a fantastic match, finishing the 90 minutes tied 1-1 against a team that included Leo Messi, Juan Román Riquelme, Pablo Aimar, Roberto Ayala, and Javier Mascherano, among others. In the 98th minute, a stunning goal by Maxi Rodríguez was the reason that Mexico was eliminated from the World Cup that time.
2010 World Cup in South Africa
For the South Africa World Cup, the group looked quite challenging, as it included not only the host nation but also Uruguay and France. Repeating a curious record of accumulating 4 points by winning one match, drawing another, and losing the last, Mexico managed to qualify thanks to a better goal difference than South Africa, eliminating a France side plagued by internal problems during the competition. In the Round of 16, the "rematch" against Argentina was on the cards; however, far from the epic match of 2006, the South Americans comfortably defeated the Mexicans 3-1.2014 World Cup in Brazil
Again in 2014, Mexico was placed in Group A alongside the host nation, Brazil, and Cameroon (led by Samuel Eto'o) and Croatia (led by Luka Modric). Victories against the Croatians and the Africans, and a 0-0 draw with the hosts, allowed them to comfortably qualify as runners-up, tied on points with Brazil but with a worse goal difference.The Round of 16 draw pitted them against the Netherlands, whom they were leading until the 88th minute when Wesley Sneijder equalized. Then came one of the most memorable negative moments in recent Mexican football history. In the fourth minute of added time, Arjen Robben entered the penalty area, cut inside, and was fouled by Rafael Márquez, giving rise to the famous phrase "it wasn't a penalty." The referee awarded a penalty, and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar converted it.
2018 World Cup in Russia
For the Russia edition, Mexico arrived with 11 wins and 4 draws in 16 qualifying matches. This sparked some optimism in the country, although they faced a tough group that included South Korea, Germany, and Sweden. The Mexicans began with a historic 1-0 victory against Germany and then defeated the Asians, before finishing with a 3-0 loss to Sweden, though Mexico managed to qualify for the next round anyway since South Korea to everyone's surprise beat Germany.Their Round of 16 matchup was against the five-time world champions Brazil, who, with goals from Neymar and Roberto Firmino, prevailed 2-0, adding another elimination to the curse of the fifth match.
2022 World Cup in Qatar
In 2022, the situation changed somewhat, as unlike previous editions, Mexico failed to advance from the group stage, finishing third.In Group C, they were grouped with Argentina (who would go on to win the tournament), Saudi Arabia, and Poland. The initial draw against Poland proved decisive, as they went on to defeat the Saudis and lose to the South Americans; both results were within expectations.