All eyes are on whether the Mexican national team will be able to break the ``fifth game curse'' at the World Cup. This phrase comes up often when talking about Mexican soccer. Mexico advanced to the Round of 16 with a victory over Ecuador, but they have only reached the quarterfinals twice before, in 1970 and 1986, both times as the host nation.
The 1970 tournament was a 16-team tournament, with the knockout stage beginning immediately after the group stage. Because of this, Mexico's fourth game was the quarterfinal, not their fifth. However, in 1986, after defeating Bulgaria and losing to West Germany in the quarterfinals, rumors of the "fifth game curse" began to be heard.
Although they were prohibited from participating in the 1990 tournament for using players over the age limit, they made it through to the group stage in the next seven tournaments in a row. However, they were all eliminated in the round of 16. At the 2022 Qatar tournament, we lost in the group stage, experiencing the bitterest experience since 1978, but we were not even able to challenge for the ``fifth game''.
The 2026 tournament will expand to 48 teams, requiring six new games to advance to the quarterfinals, but Mexican fans' expectations remain the same. It will be interesting to see if they can break the barrier of round 16 that has existed since 1994 and advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in 36 years.
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Although they were prohibited from participating in the 1990 tournament for using players over the age limit, they made it through to the group stage in the next seven tournaments in a row. However, they were all eliminated in the round of 16. At the 2022 Qatar tournament, we lost in the group stage, experiencing the bitterest experience since 1978, but we were not even able to challenge for the ``fifth game''.
The 2026 tournament will expand to 48 teams, requiring six new games to advance to the quarterfinals, but Mexican fans' expectations remain the same. It will be interesting to see if they can break the barrier of round 16 that has existed since 1994 and advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in 36 years.
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