With the 2026 FIFA World Cup just days away, Mexico made its emotional and ceremonial commitment to the tournament official. On Monday, June 8, President Claudia Sheinbaum led the traditional flag-presentation ceremony — known in Mexico as the abanderamiento — honoring the 26 players who will represent the country in the most-watched sporting event on the planet.
The ceremony took place at the Centro de Alto Rendimiento (CAR), the Mexican Football Federation's training headquarters and the Tricolor's home base during their World Cup preparations. The setting was fitting: a facility built for elite performance, now the backdrop for a moment steeped in national pride.
It was goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa — one of the team's most seasoned captains — who received the national flag directly from President Sheinbaum's hands. The moment was loaded with symbolism. At 41 years old, Ochoa was called up to compete in his sixth World Cup, cementing his status as one of the defining leaders of the squad under coach Javier Aguirre.
Sheinbaum formally administered the oath, presenting the flag with the words: "I entrust to your patriotism this flag, which symbolizes your independence, honor, the institutions, our people, and the integrity of your territory." She then asked, "Do you pledge to honor and defend it with loyalty and constancy?" — to which the players responded in unison: "Yes, I pledge."
Sheinbaum closed her remarks by expressing her hope that the team's performance would inspire millions of Mexicans to believe in the strength of sport and the power of their dreams, before wishing the squad every success and leading a chant of "¡Que viva la selección!"
The ceremony brought together the 26 World Cup-bound players, the coaching staff, and the owners and executives of Liga MX clubs, all gathered on a platform set up behind the CAR's training fields. It was a reunion of Mexican football's full institutional weight behind a team that carries the weight of an entire nation's expectations — and then some.
El Tri is scheduled to make its World Cup debut this Thursday, June 11, against South Africa at the Estadio Ciudad de México. The match is set to kick off at 1:00 p.m. Central Mexico time and will mark the official start of the tournament co-hosted by Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
Coach Aguirre built his final roster from a preliminary pool of 55 players, combining youth and experience, with footballers from both Liga MX and European clubs making the cut. The 26-man squad represents the product of months of evaluation — and now, officially, the hopes and dreams of millions watching from across the country and the diaspora.
For Mexico, this World Cup is more than a sporting competition. The country becomes the only nation in history to host three FIFA World Cups and three opening ceremonies at the same venue, a fact that makes Monday's ceremony feel like more than protocol — it's a declaration. A host nation, a president, a legendary goalkeeper, and a generation of players who said, in one voice: sí, protesto.
The flag is out. The countdown is on.
