Mexico is living a historic run at the 2026 World Cup. For the first time ever, ‘El Tri’ won all of their Group Stage matches, qualified in first place, and did not concede a single goal. A deep-rooted tradition that has caught the eye of many has been Mexican players and head coach Javier Aguirre kneeling and praying to the Virgin of Guadalupe before kickoff.

We’ve seen Álvaro Fidalgo, Guillermo ‘Memote’ Martínez, Armando ‘Hormiga’ González, and Mateo Chávez commend themselves to the Virgin of Guadalupe. Notably, Mexico City Stadium (Azteca Stadium) has housed a sacred chapel for decades, where many players throughout history have gathered to pray before crucial matches.

History of Mexico City Stadium’s chapel

The image of the Virgin of Guadalupe has been in the stadium almost since its beginning. There is no official date for when the chapel and its image were put in the Stadium. Workers with decades of service claim that “it has always been there,” even dating back to the construction phase of the venue, which opened in 1966.

Following the venue’s inauguration in 1966, the image remained in the tunnel used by both home and visiting teams.

In 1999, during Pope John Paul II’s visit to Mexico and the Azteca Stadium, the image from the chapel was placed in the bedroom used by John Paul II, who blessed it during his visit. Today, a plaque installed at its feet commemorates the event.

When the Virgin of Guadalupe moved into El Tri’s locker room

Héctor Raúl Barrios Neri, the stadium’s former Operations Coordinator, indicated that the Virgin of Guadalupe has aided athletes on more than one occasion.

For example, he recounted that during the 1999 Confederations Cup, head coach Manuel Lapuente had the Virgin placed in the team’s locker room.

“The Mexican National Team was going to bring their own image of the Virgin, but the stadium staff let them know that there was already one here and that they could even move it to the locker room, which is exactly what they did. It remains the only Confederations Cup our country has ever won,” he noted.

“There are images showing how, on that occasion, the players would hug, pray the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father), walk over to the Virgin, cross themselves, and then head out to play,” he concluded.

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