The Argentina–Mexico football rivalry is a sports rivalry that exists in some sports media in Mexico for the Argentina national team. Although the rivalry is not a very competitive one with Argentina holding 16 victories, 12 draws and only 4 losses in 32 meetings, the game draws a lot of attention from the media in Mexico. In fact, this rivalry is more keenly felt by Mexican supporters than Argentines, with the latter viewing Brazil, England, Uruguay, Germany, and the Netherlands as bigger rivals. A majority of Argentines do not consider Mexico as rivals. Even Mexican footballers and managers such as Raúl Jiménez or Miguel Herrera reject the existence of the rivalry. Argentina has not lost to Mexico since 2004, with the last 4 meetings being shutout victories. Mexico has not scored against Argentina since 2015 in a friendly.
History Although the first official match between both nations came in the 1930 FIFA World Cup where Argentina beat Mexico 6–3 in the group stage, the rivalry emerged during the late twentieth century, especially after the 1993 Copa América Final, where Argentina beat Mexico 2–1.Copa América 1993 Final on the RSSSF That was the first time a non-CONMEBOL nation played in a Copa América final, and the first final played between both sides.México alimenta la Copa América by Diego Mancera on El País, 15 June 2019
Managed by Alfio Basile, Argentina won the Copa América for the fourteenth time, defending their title won two years before.Reviví la consagración en la Copa América 1993, el último título de la Selección mayor on Diario Veloz, 4 Jul 2015Hace 23 años, la selección argentina ganaba la Copa América por última vez by Gustavo Lenti on Telam, 4 July 2016 Argentina would not win another Copa America until 2021.
Overall, Argentina holds the edge in the rivalry in official matches, with sixteen victories, four by Mexico, and twelve draws.
Beyond the rivalry between both teams, many Argentine coaches have served as managers of Mexican teams. Meanwhile, César Menotti is widely recognised for his work with the Mexico national team, Nevertheless, other Argentines who managed Mexico in subsecquent years (such as Ricardo LaVolpe or more recently Gerardo Martino) were heavily criticized by the local media despite some good results leading the team. Former Mexican player and manager Hugo Sánchez has always been reluctant with the idea of having foreign managers.
During the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar, there was animosity between fans of both sides. Prior to the match between both teams, some Mexican and Argentine fans had a fight in Doha.BATALLA CAMPAL ENTRE HINCHAS DE ARGENTINA Y MÉXICO EN LAS CALLES DE DOHA El Gráfico, 24 Nov 2022 Both supporters fought again inside Lusail Stadium after Argentina's victory.Incidentes entre hinchas de la Selección Argentina y México en el Mundial de Qatar 2022, TyC, 26 Nov 2022 Previously, Mexican fans, alongside a portion of Uruguayan fans, had been singing a song that included political and social references to the Falklands War singing "Come to see! Come to see! In the Falklands, English language is spoken", with the word Falklands intentionally included, considering that the islands are named Malvinas in Spanish, regardless of any political position. This intentional aggression sparked outrage of the Argentine fans towards them.La repudiable canción mexicana contra Argentina en el Mundial de Qatar 2022 on TyC, 26 Nov 2022
Comparison in major tournaments Key Denotes which team finished better in that particular competition. DNQ: Did not qualify. DNP: Did not participate. TBD: To be determined.
TournamentNotes1930 FIFA World Cup2nd13thIn the group stage, Argentina defeated Mexico 6–3.1934 FIFA World Cup10thDNQ1938 FIFA World CupWithdrew1950 FIFA World CupWithdrew12th1954 FIFA World Cup13th1958 FIFA World Cup13th11th1962 FIFA World Cup8th11th1966 FIFA World Cup5th12th1970 FIFA World CupDNQ6thTournament hosted by Mexico.1974 FIFA World Cup8thDNQ1978 FIFA World Cup1st16thTournament hosted by Argentina.1982 FIFA World Cup11thDNQ1986 FIFA World Cup1st6thTournament hosted by Mexico.1990 FIFA World Cup2ndDisqualified1993 Copa América1st2ndIn the group stage, the match ended 0–0. The two would meet again in the final, where Argentina defeated Mexico 2–1.1994 FIFA World Cup7th13th1995 Copa América5th7th1997 Copa América3rd6th1998 FIFA World Cup6th13th1999 Copa América3rd8th2001 Copa AméricaWithdrew2nd2002 FIFA World Cup18th11th2004 Copa América2nd6thIn the group stage, Mexico defeated Argentina 1–0.2006 FIFA World Cup6th15thIn the Round of 16, Argentina defeated Mexico 2–1.2007 Copa América2nd3rdIn the semifinals, Argentina defeated Mexico 3–0.2010 FIFA World Cup5th14thIn the Round of 16, Argentina defeated Mexico 3–1.2011 Copa América7th11thTournament hosted by Argentina.2014 FIFA World Cup2nd10th2015 Copa América2nd12th2016 Copa América7th2018 FIFA World Cup16th12th2022 FIFA World Cup1st22ndIn the group stage, Argentina defeated Mexico 2–0.2024 Copa América9th2026 FIFA World Cup2ndTournament hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada.2030 FIFA World CupTBD
List of matches The chart includes the complete list of matches played between both teams:ARGENTINA NATIONAL TEAM ARCHIVE by Osvaldo Gorgazzi at the RSSSFHistorial de la Selección Argentina vs. México: cuántas veces se enfrentaron on TyC Sports, 26 Nov 2022Historial de enfrentamientos entre la Selección Argentina y la Selección Azteca on AFA, 17 Jan 2019México - Argentina, una historia longeva by Luis Aguirre, 8 Sep 2015
# Date City Venue Winner Score Competition Goals (Arg) Goals (Mex) 1 19 Jul 1930 Montevideo Centenario Argentina 1930 World Cup Stábile (3), Zumelzú (2), Varallo Rosas (2), Gayón 2 13 Mar 1956 Mexico CityOlímpico Universitario (Draw) 1956 Panamerican 3 10 Mar 1960 San José Estadio Nacional Argentina 1960 Panamerican Belén (2), Nardiello H. Hernández, C. González 4 17 Mar 1960 San José Argentina Jiménez, Nardiello 5 28 Mar 1962 Buenos Aires Argentina Friendly 6 22 Aug 1967 Mexico City Mexico Friendly ? Fragoso (2) 7 6 Feb 1973 Mexico City Mexico Friendly E. Borja, F. Bustos 8 31 Aug 1975 Mexico City Estadio Azteca (Draw) Mexico City Cup Coscia F. Vargas 9 18 Sep 1984 Monterrey Estadio Universitario (Draw) Friendly Burruchaga Negrete 10 25 Oct 1984 Buenos Aires José Amalfitani (Draw) Friendly Gareca Flores 11 14 Nov 1985 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Draw) Friendly Maradona 12 17 Nov 1985 Puebla Estadio Cuauhtémoc (Draw) Friendly Ruggeri Aguirre 13 17 Jan 1990 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Mexico Friendly C. Muñoz, Zague 14 13 Mar 1991 Buenos Aires José Amalfitani(Draw) Friendly 15 20 Jun 1993 Guayaquil Estadio Monumental (Draw) 1993 Copa América Ruggeri Patiño 16 4 Jul 1993 Guayaquil Argentina Batistuta (2) Galindo 17 10 Feb 1999 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Argentina Friendly Sorín 18 9 Jun 1999 Chicago Soldier Field (Draw) Reebok Cup J. Cruz, G. López L. Hernández, P. Chávez 19 20 Dec 2000 Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumArgentina Reebok Cup Solari, Galletti 20 4 Feb 2003 Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumArgentina Friendly G.J. Rodríguez 21 10 Jul 2004 Chiclayo Elías Aguirre Mexico 2004 Copa América R. Morales 22 9 Mar 2005 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Draw) Friendly R. Zárate Fuentes 23 26 May 2005 Hanover Niedersachsenstadion (Draw) 2005 Confed Cup Figueroa Salcido 24 24 Jun 2006 Leipzig Zentralstadion Argentina 2006 World Cup Crespo, M. Rodríguez Márquez 25 11 Jul 2007 Puerto Ordaz Cachamay Argentina 2007 Copa América Heinze, Messi, Riquelme 26 4 Jun 2008 San Diego Qualcomm Stadium Argentina Friendly Burdisso, Messi, M. Rodríguez, Agüero Sinha 27 27 Jun 2010 Johannesburg Soccer City Argentina 2010 World Cup Tevez (2), Higuaín J. Hernández 28 8 Sep 2015 Arlington AT&T Stadium (Draw) Friendly Agüero, Messi J. Hernández, Herrera 29 16 Nov 2018 Córdoba Mario A. Kempes Argentina Friendly Funes Mori, Brizuela (o.g.) 30 20 Nov 2018 Mendoza Malvinas Argentinas Argentina Friendly Icardi, Dybala 31 10 Sep 2019 San Antonio Alamodome Argentina Friendly L. Martínez (3), Paredes 32 26 Nov 2022 Lusail Lusail Stadium Argentina 2022 World Cup Messi, E. Fernández Notes
Statistics Competition Played Arg. won Draw Mex. won FIFA World Cup 4 4 0 0FIFA Confederations Cup 1 0 1 0Copa América 4 2 1 1Panamerican Championship 3 2 1 0Friendlies 20 8 9 3 Total 32 16 12 4
Official titles comparison +Senior titlesArgentinaMexicoWorld Cup30FIFA Confederations Cup11CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions20Copa América / CONCACAF Championship and Gold Cup1612Panamerican / CONCACAF Nations League11Total2314
Club competition
At club level, Argentine and Mexican teams met for the first time at Copa Interamericana, a defunct competition contested by Conmebol and Concacaf club champions. In the first edition of the tournament (1968), Estudiantes de La Plata beat Toluca after a two-legged and a playoff series, winning the first trophy for South America.
The first Mexican win over an Argentine side in Copa Interamericana came in 1977 when Club América defeated Boca Juniors. After both teams won one match each, a playoff was held in Mexico City, where América won 2–1 to achieve their first title.Copa Intermericana 1978 overview on Historia de BocaAmérica campeón de la Interamericana on Club América, 14 Apr 2018La copa olvidada by Juan Manuel Trenado on La Nación, 20 Feb 2019
The rivalry between both nations at club level increased during the late 1990s, when Mexican clubs were invited to participate in Copa Libertadores. After Mexican representatives were eliminated on round of 16 in 1998, in the 2000 edition América lost to Boca Juniors in semifinals (5–4 on aggregate). The progress of Mexican sides in the competition was clearly evident in 2001 when Cruz Azul became the first Mexican team to play a final, being defeated by Boca Juniors on penalties after winning one game each (as visitor teams).A 21 años de la Copa Libertadores 2001 ganada por Boca on TyC, 28 Jun 2002 Previously, Cruz Azul had eliminated Cerro Porteño (round of 16) and two Argentine teams, River Plate and Rosario Central (in quarter and semifinals respectively).Copa Libertadores de América 2001 by Frank Ballesteros and Juan Pablo Andrés for the RSSSF
The most controversial game between Mexican and Argentine teams in club competitions occurred in 2005, when Guadalajara faced Boca Juniors in quarter finals. In the first leg, Guadalajara beat Boca Juniors 4–0,Copa Libertadores de América 2005 by Juan P. Andrés on the RSSSF being considered one of the greatest achievements of Mexican teams over Argentine rivals.Partidos épicos: Chivas goleó 4-0 a Boca Juniors en Cuartos de Final de la Copa Libertadores 2005 by Eduardo Ceccato García, 18 nov 2020 In the second leg at La Bombonera, Chivas player Adolfo Bautista mock Boca Juniors supporters which caused Martín Palermo beat him. As a result, both were sent off while Boca Juniors coach, Jorge Benítez, spit at Bautista's face. The final 0–0 score eliminated Boca Juniors from the competition and the match passed into history as an embarrassing scandal.A 15 años de Boca-Chivas y el escupitajo del Chino Benítez al Bofo Bautista by Franco Macchi on ESPN, 14 Jun 2020 Benítez's misconduct caused Boca Juniors fired him after the incident.Boca determinó el despido de Benítez on La Nueva, 16 Jun 2005
Tigres UANL became the second Mexican team to play a Copa Libertadores final in 2015, but they lost to River Plate (0–3 on aggregate). After the 2017 edition, Mexican teams would decline to participate in Copa Libertadores due to scheduling problems.Concacaf, en contra de los mexicanos que quieran jugar la Libertadores on Télam, 6 Feb 2021
See also Argentina–Mexico relations
References