What does the famous fifth game mean for El Tri?

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July 1, 2026July 1, 2026By Mario Vásquez
What does the famous fifth game mean for El Tri?

Since the selection of Mexico was eliminated in the quarter finals of the World Cup 1986in view of Germanyhe Tricolor has not stopped looking for the famous fifth match globalist. However, with the victory over Ecuador in the sixteenths from the end of the World Cup 2026El Tri finally got it, or not?

Four decades have passed since that afternoon in the University Stadium of Montereywhen Mexico was unable to overcome Germany in the round of criminalbecause Fernando Quirarte and Servín Monetti failed their respective launches, and on June 21, 1986 It was recorded in the memory of millions of Mexican fans.

From that moment on, the Tricolor was eliminated seven times in the round of 16 and once in the group stage, in Qatar 2022so the famous fifth game took 40 years to wait. However, the current format of the World Cup has created confusion about this phenomenon in Mexico, so that it has become a mirage.

Yes, the Mexican team did reach the fifth game of the World Cup 2026as in the edition of 1986when the Tricolor was also hostbut this fifth party does not represent the same as it did four decades ago. What’s more, it doesn’t even represent the same as El Tri’s fourth game in the World Cup. 197056 years ago.

What does the fifth game mean for Mexico?

The Mexican team has only reached the quarter finals of a World Cup on two occasions, in 1970 and 1986both as local. Despite this, the Tricolor has had its best participation in the World Cup with distinct number of matches, because everything has depended on the number of national teams participating in the cup.

In the edition of 1970the Mexican team reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time and played only four games: three in the group stage and one in the quarterfinals. This is because, on that occasion, the tournament had only 16 selections, so there were no rounds of 32 or round of 16.

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Sixteen years later, for the first time, the famous fifth game, since in the edition of 1986 The round of 16 already existed, so the Mexican team had to play three matches in the group stage and one in the round of 16, and the fifth came in the quarterfinals, where they were eliminated against Germany.

Against this backdrop, the fifth match of the 2026 World Cup does not represent the same than the fifth game of the 1986 World Cup. The aim of Mexico is to reach third time in its history the quarterfinals of a World Cup, so, on this occasion, they will have to play six games to meet that goal of Tricolor.

The road to the quarterfinals

After surpassing the selection of Ecuadorin the first sixteenths final in the history of the World Cup, the Tricolor must beat its rival in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup to reach the longed for round of the quarterfinals, given that Mexico has not reached that stage for four decadesin the 1986 edition.

The round of 16 match will be played on Sunday, July 5 in the Mexico City stadium, and El Tri’s rival will be defined this Wednesday, July 1given that those led by coach Javier Aguirre will face the winner of the match between England and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who will seek to put end to the Mexican dream.

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