Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Roberto Casillas

How Mexicans Fell Out of Love With Their National Team

Mexican fans could only watch in sadness as El Tri got eliminated in the group stage of the 2022 Qatar World Cup | IMAGO/Agencia-MexSport

Offering two-for-one tickets and free entry to anyone who kept the physical ticket of the last time Mexico played at the Estadio Cuauhtémoc in 2007, the Mexican national team prepares to host La Liga's Valencia in a friendly game on Saturday night.

The Mexican Soccer Federation is doing everything it can to avoid seeing the bleachers in Puebla, Mexico, resemble the scene of El Tri's last two games in Los Angeles and Dallas. Two places where El Tri usually feels at home were abandoned by its fans, painting a brutally honest picture of the sporting crisis the Mexican national team has been immersed in since the start of the decade.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.