The post-World Cup movement hasn’t gone smoothly for the Mexican national team.
In the current four-game international window, El Tri, under new coach Rafael Marquez, is winless through three games.
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“It’s a process,” Marquez said Saturday after Mexico lost to the USMNT 3-0. “I think there are positives to take away, but obviously, we need to be self-critical, understand what happened, and bounce back as quickly as possible because we have another match coming up.”
The final match of the window brings Mexico “home” to Los Angeles and the Coliseum, to face Chile. Mexico has always drawn well in Los Angeles. As of the weekend, event organizers said 50,000 tickets had been sold.
Mexico played its 2026 FIFA World Cup send-off match at the Rose Bowl on May 30, with 78,479 in attendance.
Mexico’s tour across America began with 1-1 draws against Colombia in Baltimore (Sept. 26) and Peru in New Jersey (Sept. 29), which all led to Saturday’s 3-0 drubbing at the hands of the USMNT.
“It’s simple. In football, you win, draw and lose, you have to be prepared for that,” Márquez said Saturday. “The most important thing is knowing how to bounce back, engaging in self-criticism to understand what we did right and what we did wrong, and then continuing to work.”
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According to ESPN, Marquez is the first Mexico coach to fail to record a win in his first three games since Manuel Lapuente in 1997. Marquez replaced Javier Aguirre after Mexico’s Round of 16 exit at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He was a five-time World Cup participant with El Tri and began his coaching career at Barcelona Atletic, the reserve team of FC Barcelona.
Chile finished last in South American World Cup qualifying and has dropped its first two friendlies of the window, 1-0 against Canada (Sept. 26) and 4-2 against the USMNT (Sept. 29).
Memo Ochoa to be honored
During the pregame, Mexico’s legendary goalkeeper Memo Ochoa will be honored. Ochoa retired from soccer after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He made 154 appearances for the Mexican national team and is the first and only goalkeeper to appear in six FIFA World Cups.
Ochoa, who retired from professional soccer after the 2026 FIFA World Cup, is the all-time MexTour leader among goalkeepers with 38 appearances since the tour first began in 2003. He earned 154 caps for Mexico all-time and became the first goalkeeper to appear in a record six FIFA World Cups.
The “Thank You, Memo!” pregame ceremony will feature fan appreciation videos and the lighting of the stadium’s iconic Olympic cauldron.
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