“Mexico has to be considered a candidate to win the World Cup”
Portugal coach Roberto Martínez claims that Mexico should be considered a title contender due to one essential factor: playing at home.
In an interview with TUDN, the Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez stated that the Mexican national team should be one of the favorites to win the 2026 World Cup this summer. According to Martínez, El Tri becomes stronger playing at home, and that could be a key factor for the Mexican squad in the tournament.
“Mexico is always a team that makes very good use of the home advantage. When you analyze Mexico in the World Cups, they don’t get out of the group stage, but in the two World Cups they have played in Mexico they reached the quarterfinals,” the Spaniard added.
“We are talking about a team that, playing at home in the Azteca, has to be one of the favorites.”
Roberto Martínez.
According to the coach, coming to play at the Azteca Stadium serves as a perfect prelude to the World Cup.
“Being able to play at the Azteca is the best preparation for the World Cup. I know the players have already started talking… everyone has their own memories, and the Azteca is a stadium that is a benchmark in World Cups.”
When do Portugal and Mexico play?
The match is scheduled for this Saturday, March 28th at 7:00 PM (local CDMX time). The Portuguese national side will be Javier Aguirre’s guests for the inauguration of the remodeled Azteca Stadium.
The Mexico squad features names like Álvaro Fidalgo and Paulinho, Liga MX idols who could see playing time at the Azteca Stadium with their respective national teams. Conversely, the absence of injured Cristiano Ronaldo and renowned Mexican players like Luis Ángel Malagón and Marcel Ruiz will be sorely missed in the Coapa area of Mexico City.
🫡⚽ First day of camp before we play against Portugal and Belgium, and a lot of cool stuff happened at El CAR... ¡Con Grupo Frontera!#SomosMéxico 💚🤍❤️ pic.twitter.com/35gGfGsZ25
— Mexican National Team (@miseleccionmxEN) March 24, 2026
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