History
Mexico first entered the World Cup tournament in 1930. They will be appearing in the FIFA World Cup for the 14th time in South Africa, more than any other side from the CONCACAF zone. Their best performances in the finals came as tournament hosts in 1970 and 1986, reaching the last eight on both occasions. This World Cup is their fifth appearance in a row. On all four previous occasions they have bowed out in the last 16, most recently to Argentina after losing 2-1 (AET) in 2006.

Qualification
CONCACAF qualifying is a long and complicated process, but after a nervy start, Mexico bagged their place in South Africa with reasonable ease. In the one-off second round of qualifying they beat Belize 9-0 to reach the third qualifying stage where they edged out Jamaica on goal difference in a tight group, finishing runners up to Honduras to make the fourth round of qualifying. Their stuttering progress lead to the dismissal of Sven Goran Eriksson, who was replaced by experienced as manager by Javier Aguirre. The six team final stage of qualifying saw Mexico’s perfect home form help them through as runners up behind the United States, despite three defeats on the road.

Prospects
Mexico’s World Cup pedigree and recent success means that many will expect them to make it into the knockout stages in South Africa. An experienced outfit, this will be their fifth consecutive appearance at football’s elite tournament. In 2009 they won the CONCACAF Gold Cup, beating the United States in the final 5-0 on US soil in front of 80,000 fans and despite a challenging group featuring the hosts South Africa and France, they will be expected to repeat their 2006 feat of making the last 16 at least. Ageing Barcelona defender Rafael Marquez is the class act in the side, while the precocious talent of young attackers Carlos Vela and Giovani dos Santos could surprise even the better defences in the world. While they have few other players that could be considered household names outside of Mexico, there is a wealth of experience in the squad, with striker Cuauhtemoc Blanco and holding midfielder Gerardo Torrado both capped more than 100 times. Providing they manage to ease past South Africa in the opening game of the tournament, they will be confident of making it out of the group with a result against one of France or Uruguay.