Mexico Soccer Team
The Mexico national football team - the Tricolores
or Tri for short- is the national team
of Mexico and is controlled by the Federación Mexicana
de Fútbol Asociación.
For most of the 20th century, but especially
in the 1990s, they dominated the other CONCACAF sides, earning
them the nickname of Giants of CONCACAF. Surprising wins by
Canada and the United States in the 2000 and 2002 Gold Cups
respectively, and Mexico's dismissal by the United States
in Round 2 of the 2002 World Cup, seemed to signal a new era
of parity on the continental football scene. However, Mexico
then experienced a resurgence with the continuous and overall
good participation of the Mexican national team and Mexican
club sides as guests the CONMEBOL tournaments of Copa Libertadores
and Copa América, as well as their qualification run
for the 2004 Athens Olympics and the win in the 2003 Gold
Cup. The 2005 Gold Cup tournament will serve as a rubber match
of sorts, with each of the most populous CONCACAF nations
having previously taken home the winner's trophy once in the
preceding half-decade.
Although Mexico has made 11 World Cups, they
have not had much success on the global stage. Many observers
blame it on the footballing quality of the area comparing
it to e.g. South America, or the lack of Mexican players abroad,
but that is a very lengthy discussion. They only made the
quarterfinals twice, in 1970 and 1986, both times when they
hosted the tournament. They were suspended for 1990 competition
for falsifying players' ages at a youth championship.
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