Mexico were being booed — booed furiously — but even that low rumble failed to drown out the whistles, hurled from the stands of the Estadio Akron with the ferocity and barb of spears. Tied goalless with South Korea at half-time, their team bore them impassively.
This is not new.
An hour later, those same stands were dancing. Players were exhausted on the floor. Two games, two wins, two clean sheets. The first side into the World Cup 2026 knockout stages. A mariacheño song blasted over the speakers — De Los Besos Que Te Di (Of the Kisses I Gave You) — and it was those adorations that now rained down.
“Of all the kisses I gave you, my love, which do you miss the most? The tender ones or the poisonous ones? The innocent ones or the unrestrained ones?“
For the first half, they were poisonous and unrestrained — and it was a song and a night that encapsulated Mexico’s turbulent relationship with its national team.
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The Heart of Mexico, and the Weight of Expectation
It is forced upon you: at the airport, on billboards, from the lips of locals. “There is no city that is more Mexican than Guadalajara,” so the saying goes.
Jalisco — the state the city crowns — is the home of mariachi music, tequila, and Mexican rodeo; a cultural hub that spawned three of Mexico’s greatest 20th-century writers. Its football side, Chivas, proudly selects only Mexican players — four of whom were in the starting line-up on Thursday night.
The roads out of Chapultepec towards Zapopan were a sea of noise, fervour, and green. Yet here, in the heart of Mexico, the national team has to pump those vessels themselves. It is away from Mexico City that the nation’s true feelings are most honestly reflected.
Despite their success — statistically, the best opening two games in Mexico’s World Cup history — compare the mood in Guadalajara to the rapture that greeted fellow hosts United States and Canada after their performances. Equally noisy. But filled with boos.
And why? It goes to the country’s soul.
The Performance That Earned the Boos
Against South Korea, Mexico’s only creation was purgatory. Manager Javier Aguirre has spoken of his desire “to fight, to hustle, to work hard” — but by dropping creative force Álvaro Fidalgo (Real Betis) and declining to pick 17-year-old starlet Gilberto Mora, he was left with a team working out its attacking plan on the fly.
Eons passed as they launched long balls from the back. South Korea were content to let them have the ball; it was safer than any counter-attack they might have produced had they seized possession. For most of the first half, Mexico produced just two touches in the opposition box and an xG tally of just 0.10.
“This was not the Mexico we know,” said supporters Iván and Edson. “It was too slow. As long as they wear the shirt, they will be supported by us — but they have to fight, they have to play fast.”
The Romo Paradox
In the build-up to the match, the player most publicly targeted was midfielder Luis Romo — recalled to the starting XI — who had been crucified for comments to TV Azteca in which he suggested Mexico needed to focus on playing well rather than solely on winning.
“It’s not like we don’t care, but we’re not 100 per cent like, ‘Ay, we have to win, we have to win!'” he said. “We have to live the game, we have to prepare ourselves well, and of course we want victory, but we can’t oblige ourselves or put pressure on ourselves to win.”
In hindsight, he was right. Mexico were clearly preoccupied with the result, producing a nervy and fragmented performance — and duly booed for their lack of intensity.
There was an irony, then, that Romo was responsible for their winning goal — profiting from a calamitous defensive mix-up between South Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu and defender Lee Gi-hyuk in the 50th minute.
Romo is a Chivas player — scoring at his home stadium, in front of the people he represents. He is an everyman figure: a boy who returned to working as a fisherman after the first squandering of his football dream, from a family that could not always afford to buy him studded boots.
It is stories like these that create dreams like these. The longer they wait, the wilder they get.
Seven Exits, and Why This Time Feels Different
The history of supporting Mexico is, to a large degree, a history of frustration.
Seven successive round-of-16 defeats at the World Cup between 1994 and 2018 — a record that has left a deep scar on the national psyche. Eclipsed by neighbours. Obsessed yet seized by impotence.
A home World Cup feels preordained to Mexican fans — the long-awaited day of fate where magical realism finally takes over.
“Sometimes you have to answer with your heart, your feelings,” said supporter Carlos, when asked why he booed. “It’s the truth inside you that you’re voicing.”
He paused. “You know, we build up our stars. They live all over the world. And it’s tough, you know, because it’s our national sport. We build it up and then we crush our superstars. But when it comes to the World Cup, we’re all united.”
The booing and the dancing at the Estadio Akron are not contradictions. They are the same emotion at different temperatures.
Aguirre: The Genie Facing the Crowd
Facing the Mexican press after the win, Aguirre was well aware of his role.
On many occasions when crowds have whistled and booed his style of football, he has deigned to them: “I’m not one to judge the fans; they are free and sovereign to express themselves,” he has said.
His final admission of the evening made those words resonate differently.
“What makes me happiest? This, damn it. The people.”
What the Numbers Say — and What They Don’t
The statistics confirm what supporters sensed, even as they celebrated.
| Mexico’s World Cup 2026 — First Two Games | Performance |
|---|---|
| Results | W2 (2 wins, 2 clean sheets) |
| Position | First side into knockout stages |
| Historical context | Statistically best opening two games in Mexico’s World Cup history |
| xG vs South Korea (first half) | 0.10 |
| Opposition box touches vs South Korea | 2 |
The results are historic. The process, against South Korea at least, was not.
When a nation has been waiting as long as Mexico has — for the round of 16 ceiling to finally be broken, for that preordained World Cup moment on home soil — a result achieved through a goalkeeper mix-up and 45 minutes of passive possession does not satisfy the hunger.
It passes it, momentarily. It does not feed it.
The Imperative: Win, But Also Entertain
The imperative facing this Mexican team is not simply to win. It is to entertain — because a nation that has been waiting this long, with this much history of near-misses and brutal exits, demands both.
“Man has a longing for creation,” wrote Juan José Arreola, one of Guadalajara’s great novelists. “He is not content with merely living, but also needs to create.”
Aguirre’s Mexico, through two games, have satisfied the living. They have not yet satisfied the creation.
Whether they can do both — in the knockout stages, against opponents of a different quality to South Africa and South Korea — is the central question of Mexico’s 2026 World Cup.
The mariacheño plays on. The fans dance and boo in equal measure. And somewhere on the floor of the Estadio Akron, Luis Romo — the fisherman’s son who was right about everything — catches his breath and thinks about what comes next.
Read More: Why Ismaël Koné’s Injury Could Change Canada’s World Cup
FAQs
How has Mexico performed at World Cup 2026?
Mexico have won both of their opening group games with clean sheets, making them the first side to reach the knockout stages. Statistically, it is the best opening two games in Mexico’s World Cup history.
Why were Mexico booed at half-time against South Korea?
Mexico were goalless at half-time and had produced a passive, slow-moving performance — generating just 0.10 xG and two touches in the opposition box in the first half. The frustration from fans reflected both the performance and decades of World Cup disappointment.
Who scored Mexico’s winning goal against South Korea?
Luis Romo scored the only goal in the 50th minute, benefiting from a defensive mix-up between South Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu and defender Lee Gi-hyuk. The goal had extra significance as Romo — a Chivas player — scored at his home stadium, the Estadio Akron.
Who is Luis Romo and why was he controversial before the match?
Romo was publicly criticised after suggesting Mexico should focus on playing well rather than fixating solely on winning. He was initially dropped for the comments but was recalled to the starting XI. He responded by scoring the winning goal.
What is Mexico’s history at the World Cup that drives their fans’ frustration?
Mexico suffered seven consecutive round-of-16 exits at the World Cup between 1994 and 2018. Hosting a World Cup for the third time creates enormous expectation that this will finally be the tournament where that ceiling is broken.
