Argentina–Mexico football rivalry

{{Infobox sports rivalry

| name = Argentina–Mexico football rivalry

| other names =

| image = Argentina vs mexico guidorodriguez vs alexisvega.jpg

| caption = A moment of the match played
at the 2022 FIFA World Cup

| team1logo =

| team2logo =

| team3logo =

| team4logo =

| city or region = The Americas
Argentina (CONMEBOL)
Mexico (CONCACAF)

| first contested = Argentina 6–3 Mexico
{{small|(19 July 1930, FIFA World Cup)}}{{Cite web|url=https://elpais.com/deportes/mundial-futbol/2022-11-26/el-argentina-mexico-en-datos-un-duelo-decisivo-una-rivalidad-historica.html|title=El Argentina – México en datos: un duelo decisivo, una rivalidad histórica|publisher=elpais.com|author=Diego Mancera|date=26 Nov 2022}}

| teams involved = {{fb|ARG}}
{{fb|MEX}}

| most wins = Argentina (16)

| most player appearances =

| top scorer = Lionel Messi (4)

| mostrecent = Argentina 2–0 Mexico
{{small|(26 November 2022, 2022 FIFA World Cup)}}

| nextmeeting =

| total = 32

| league =

| series = Argentina: 16
Mexico: 4
Draws: 12

| regularseason =

| postseason =

| largestvictory = Argentina 4–0 Mexico
{{small|(Friendly, 10 Sep 2019)}}

| broadcasters =

| map_location = America

| map_label1 = Argentina

| map_label1_position = right

| map_label2 = Mexico

| map_label2_position = right

| coordinates1 = {{coord|34|S|58|W|display=inline}}

| coordinates2 = {{coord|19|N|99|W|display=inline}}

}}

The Argentina-Mexico football rivalry is a sports rivalry that exists from Mexico for the Argentine National Team.{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/mexico-argentina-fans-bring-feisty-rivalry-qatar-2022-11-26/|title=Argentina and Mexico fans' rivalry rocks Qatar|publisher=reuters.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.marca.com/en/world-cup/2022/11/24/637f0512e2704eaf818b45c3.html|title=Mexico vs. Argentina: three days before the game, the war began, but with a fight between fans|date=24 November 2022 |publisher=marca.com}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/es/2022/11/26/espanol/mexico-argentina-qatar.html|title=El partido de México y Argentina revive una vieja rivalidad deportiva|work=The New York Times|date=26 November 2022 |last1=Vilchis |first1=Raúl }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.informador.mx/entretenimiento/Qatar-2022-Al-grito-de-Guerra-la-pambolera-rivalidad-de-Mexico-y-Argentina-llega-a-ViX-20221123-0175.html|title="Al grito de Guerra", la pambolera rivalidad de México y Argentina llega a ViX+|date=23 November 2022 |publisher=informador.com.mx}} Although the rivalry is not a very competitive one with Argentina holding 16 victories, 12 draws and only 4 losses in 32 meetings, the game draws a lot of attention from the media in Mexico. In fact, this rivalry is more keenly felt by Mexican supporters than Argentines, with the latter viewing Brazil, England, Uruguay, Germany, and the Netherlands as bigger rivals. A majority of Argentines do not consider Mexico as rivals. Argentina has not lost to Mexico since 2004, with the last 4 meetings being shutout victories. Mexico has not scored against Argentina since 2015 in a friendly.{{Cite web |title=Argentina national football team: record v Mexico |url=https://www.11v11.com/teams/argentina/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Mexico/ |access-date=2023-01-06 |website=www.11v11.com}}

History

Although the first official match between both nations came in the 1930 FIFA World Cup where Argentina beat Mexico 6–3 in the group stage, the rivalry emerged during the late twentieth century, especially after the 1993 Copa América Final, where Argentina beat Mexico 2–1.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2010/jun/26/world-cup-2010-mexico-argentina|title=Mexico's great love-hate relationship with Argentina|newspaper=The Guardian |date=26 June 2010 |publisher=theguardian.com |last1=Dávila |first1=Marco }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.record.com.mx/columnistas-felipe-morales/el-origen-de-la-rivalidad-entre-mexico-y-argentina|title=El origen de la rivalidad entre México y Argentina|date=19 November 2018 |publisher=record.com.mx}}[http://rsssf.com/tables/93safull.html#final Copa América 1993 Final] on the RSSSF That was the first time a non-CONMEBOL nation played in a Copa América final, and the first final played between both sides.[https://elpais.com/deportes/2019/06/13/actualidad/1560436953_023515.html México alimenta la Copa América] by Diego Mancera on El País, 15 June 2019

Managed by Alfio Basile, Argentina won the Copa América for the fourteenth time, defending their title won two years before.[http://www.diarioveloz.com/notas/146202-revivi-la-consagracion-la-copa-america-1993-el-ultimo-titulo-la-seleccion-mayor Reviví la consagración en la Copa América 1993, el último título de la Selección mayor] on Diario Veloz, 4 Jul 2015[http://www.telam.com.ar/notas/201607/153772-argentina-copa-america-1993-ecuador-mexico-batistuta-simeone-basile.html Hace 23 años, la selección argentina ganaba la Copa América por última vez] by Gustavo Lenti on Telam, 4 July 2016 Argentina would not win another Copa America until 2021.

Overall, Argentina holds the edge in the rivalry in official matches, with sixteen victories, four by Mexico, and twelve draws.{{Cite web|url=https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/universal-deportes/futbol/mexico-vs-argentina-una-rivalidad-extra-cancha|title=México vs Argentina, rivalidad extra cancha|publisher=eluniversal.com.mx}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.11v11.com/teams/argentina/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Mexico/|title=Argentina national football team: record v Mexico|publisher=11v11.com}}

Beyond the rivalry between both teams, many Argentine coaches have served as managers of Mexican teams. Meanwhile, César Menotti is widely recognised for his work with the Mexico national team, Nevertheless, other Argentines who managed Mexico in subsecquent years (such as Ricardo LaVolpe or more recently Gerardo Martino) were heavily criticized by the local media despite some good results leading the team. Former Mexican player and manager Hugo Sánchez has always been reluctant with the idea of having foreign managers.

During the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar, there was animosity between fans of both sides. Prior to the match between both teams, some Mexican and Argentine fans had a fight in Doha.[https://www.elgrafico.com.ar/articulo/1135/59455/batalla-campal-entre-hinchas-de-argentina-y-mexico-en-las-calles-de-doha BATALLA CAMPAL ENTRE HINCHAS DE ARGENTINA Y MÉXICO EN LAS CALLES DE DOHA] El Gráfico, 24 Nov 2022 Both supporters fought again inside Lusail Stadium after Argentina's victory.[https://www.tycsports.com/seleccion-argentina/incidentes-hinchas-seleccion-argentina-mexico-mundial-qatar-2022-id479496.html Incidentes entre hinchas de la Selección Argentina y México en el Mundial de Qatar 2022], TyC, 26 Nov 2022 Previously, Mexican fans, alongside a portion of Uruguayan fans, had been singing a song that included political and social references to the Malvinas War singing "Come to see! Come to see! In the Falklands, English language is spoken", with the word Falklands intentionally included, considering that the islands are named Malvinas in Spanish, regardless of any political position. This intentional aggression sparked outrage of the Argentine fans towards them.[https://www.tycsports.com/seleccion-argentina/mundial-qatar-2022-cancion-mexicana-argentina-repudiable-id479199.html La repudiable canción mexicana contra Argentina en el Mundial de Qatar 2022] on TyC, 26 Nov 2022{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mTtJQtpA_D4 | title=Aficionados uruguayos se unen a los mexicanos en contra de argentinos | website=YouTube }}

List of matches

The chart includes the complete list of matches played between both teams:[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesa/arg-intres.html ARGENTINA NATIONAL TEAM ARCHIVE] by Osvaldo Gorgazzi at the RSSSF[https://www.tycsports.com/seleccion-argentina/historial-seleccion-argentina-vs-mexico-mundial-qatar-2022-id479118.html Historial de la Selección Argentina vs. México: cuántas veces se enfrentaron] on TyC Sports, 26 Nov 2022[https://www.afa.com.ar/es/posts/historial-ante-mexico Historial de enfrentamientos entre la Selección Argentina y la Selección Azteca] on AFA, 17 Jan 2019[https://www.vavel.com/mx/futbol-mexicano/2015/09/08/seleccion-mexicana/537844-mexico-argentina-una-historia-longeva.html México - Argentina, una historia longeva] by Luis Aguirre, 8 Sep 2015

width= px\| # ! width= 80px\| Date ! width= px\| City ! width= px\| Venue ! Winner ! width= px\| Score ! width= px\| Competition ! width=150px\| Goals (Arg) ! width=150px\| Goals (Mex)
class="wikitable sortable" style="width: ; font-size:90%"
1	19 Jul 1930	Montevideo	Centenario	style= "background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|6–3}}	1930 World Cup	Stábile (3), Zumelzú (2), Varallo	Rosas (2), Gayón
2	13 Mar 1956	Mexico City	Olímpico Universitario	style="background:#dddddd"\| (Draw)	{{center\|0–0}}	1956 Panamerican
3	10 Mar 1960	San José	rowspan="2" \| Estadio Nacional	style= "background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|3–2}}	rowspan="2" \| 1960 Panamerican	Belén (2), Nardiello	H. Hernández, C. González
4	17 Mar 1960	San José	style="background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|2–0}}	Jiménez, Nardiello
5	28 Mar 1962	Buenos Aires		style= "background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|1–0}}	Friendly
6	22 Aug 1967	Mexico City		style= "background:#006847 ; color:white" \|Mexico	{{center\|2–1}}	Friendly	?	Fragoso (2)
7	6 Feb 1973	Mexico City		style= "background:#006847 ; color:white" \|Mexico	{{center\|2–0}}	Friendly		E. Borja, F. Bustos
8	31 Aug 1975	Mexico City	Estadio Azteca	style= "background:#dddddd; color:" \|(Draw) {{refn\|Regraded as full international match for Mexico but not for Argentina.\|group=n\|name=draw}}	{{center\|1–1}}	Mexico City Cup	Coscia	F. Vargas
9	18 Sep 1984	Monterrey	Estadio Universitario	style= "background:#dddddd; color:" \|(Draw)	{{center\|1–1}}	Friendly	Burruchaga	Negrete
10	25 Oct 1984	Buenos Aires	José Amalfitani	style= "background:#dddddd; color:" \|(Draw) {{refn\|Suspended at 85' due to pitch invasion.\|group=n\|name=susp84}}	{{center\|1–1}}	Friendly	Gareca	Flores
11	14 Nov 1985	Los Angeles	Memorial Coliseum	style= "background:#dddddd; color:" \|(Draw)	{{center\|1–1}}	Friendly	Maradona
12	17 Nov 1985	Puebla	Estadio Cuauhtémoc	style= "background:#dddddd; color:" \|(Draw)	{{center\|1–1}}	Friendly	Ruggeri	Aguirre
13	17 Jan 1990	Los Angeles	Memorial Coliseum	style= "background:#006847 ; color:white" \|Mexico	{{center\|2–0}}	Friendly		C. Muñoz, Zague
14	13 Mar 1991	Buenos Aires	José Amalfitani	style= "background:#dddddd; color:" \|(Draw)	{{center\|0–0}}	Friendly
15	20 Jun 1993	Guayaquil	rowspan="2" \| Estadio Monumental	style= "background:#dddddd; color:" \|(Draw)	{{center\|0–0}}	rowspan="2" \| 1993 Copa América	Ruggeri	Patiño
16	4 Jul 1993	Guayaquil	style="background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|2–1}}	Batistuta (2)	Galindo
17	10 Feb 1999	Los Angeles	Memorial Coliseum	style= "background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|1–0}}	Friendly	Sorín
18	9 Jun 1999	Chicago	Soldier Field	style= "background:#dddddd; color:" \|(Draw)	{{center\|2–2}}	Reebok Cup	J. Cruz, G. López	L. Hernández, P. Chávez
19	20 Dec 2000	Los Angeles	Memorial Coliseum	style= "background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|2–0}}	Reebok Cup	Solari, Galletti
20	4 Feb 2003	Los Angeles	Memorial Coliseum	style= "background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|1–0}}	Friendly	G.J. Rodríguez
21	10 Jul 2004	Chiclayo	Elías Aguirre	style= "background:#006847 ; color:white" \|Mexico	{{center\|1–0}}	2004 Copa América		R. Morales
22	9 Mar 2005	Los Angeles	Memorial Coliseum	style= "background:#dddddd; color:" \|(Draw)	{{center\|1–1}}	Friendly	R. Zárate	Fuentes
23	26 May 2005	Hanover	Niedersachsenstadion	style= "background:#dddddd; color:" \|(Draw) {{refn\|Argentina won on penalty shoot-out.\|group=n\|name=argpen}}	{{center\|1–1 {{aet}} {{pso\|6–5}} }}	2005 Confed Cup	Figueroa	Salcido
24	24 Jun 2006	Leipzig	Zentralstadion	style= "background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|2–1}}	2006 World Cup	Crespo, M. Rodríguez	Márquez
25	11 Jul 2007	Puerto Ordaz	Cachamay	style= "background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|3–0}}	2007 Copa América	Heinze, Messi, Riquelme
26	4 Jun 2008	San Diego	Qualcomm Stadium	style= "background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|4–1}}	Friendly	Burdisso, Messi, M. Rodríguez, Agüero	Sinha
27	27 Jun 2010	Johannesburg	Soccer City	style= "background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|3–1}}	2010 World Cup	Tevez (2), Higuaín	J. Hernández
28	8 Sep 2015	Arlington	AT&T Stadium	style= "background:#dddddd; color:" \|(Draw)	{{center\|2–2}}	Friendly	Agüero, Messi	J. Hernández, Herrera
29	16 Nov 2018	Córdoba	Mario A. Kempes	style= "background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|2–0}}	Friendly	Funes Mori, Brizuela (o.g.)
30	20 Nov 2018	Mendoza	Malvinas Argentinas	style= "background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|2–0}}	Friendly	Icardi, Dybala
31	10 Sep 2019	San Antonio	Alamodome	style= "background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|4–0}}	Friendly	L. Martínez (3), Paredes
32	26 Nov 2022	Lusail	Lusail Stadium	style= "background:white; color:#0074E7" \|Argentina	{{center\|2–0}}	2022 World Cup	Messi, E. Fernández

;Notes

Statistics

width= px\| Competition ! width=50px\| Played ! width=50px\| Arg. won ! width=50px\| Draw ! width=50px\| Mex. won
class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width=""
FIFA World Cup	4	4	0	0
FIFA Confederations Cup	1	0	1	0
Copa América	4	2	1	1
Panamerican Championship	3	2	1	0
Friendlies	20	8	9	3
Total \|\| 32 \|\| 16 \|\| 12 \|\| 4

= Official titles comparison =

class="wikitable"

!Senior titles

!Argentina

!Mexico

World Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup

CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions

Copa América / CONCACAF Championship and Gold Cup

|16

|12

Panamerican / CONCACAF Nations League

Total

|23

|14

Club competition

File:Plantel_de_Estudiantes_de_La_Plata_festejando_la_obtenci%C3%B3n_de_la_Copa_Interamericana_-_19690221.jpg

At club level, Argentine and Mexican teams met for the first time at Copa Interamericana, a defunct competition contested by Conmebol and Concacaf club champions. In the first edition of the tournament (1968), Estudiantes de La Plata beat Toluca after a two-legged and a playoff series, winning the first trophy for South America.

The first Mexican win over an Argentine side in Copa Interamericana came in 1977 when Club América defeated Boca Juniors. After both teams won one match each, a playoff was held in Mexico City, where América won 2–1 to achieve their first title.[https://historiadeboca.com.ar/copa-interamericana-1978/1978/325.html Copa Intermericana 1978 overview] on Historia de Boca[https://www.clubamerica.com.mx/comunicados/america-campeon-de-la-copa-interamericana-1978/ América campeón de la Interamericana] on Club América, 14 Apr 2018[https://www.lanacion.com.ar/deportes/futbol/la-copa-olvidada-historia-del-trofeo-se-nid2213607 La copa olvidada] by Juan Manuel Trenado on La Nación, 20 Feb 2019

The rivalry between both nations at club level increased during the late 1990s, when Mexican clubs were invited to participate in Copa Libertadores. After Mexican representatives were eliminated on round of 16 in 1998, in the 2000 edition América lost to Boca Juniors in semifinals (5–4 on aggregate). The progress of Mexican sides in the competition was clearly evident in 2001 when Cruz Azul became the first Mexican team to play a final, being defeated by Boca Juniors on penalties after winning one game each (as visitor teams).[https://www.tycsports.com/boca-juniors/boca-copa-libertadores-2001-cruz-azul-bombonera-bicampeon-21-anos-campeon-id445723.html A 21 años de la Copa Libertadores 2001 ganada por Boca] on TyC, 28 Jun 2002 Previously, Cruz Azul had eliminated Cerro Porteño (round of 16) and two Argentine teams, River Plate and Rosario Central (in quarter and semifinals respectively).[https://www.rsssf.org/sacups/copa01.html Copa Libertadores de América 2001] by Frank Ballesteros and Juan Pablo Andrés for the RSSSF

The most controversial game between Mexican and Argentine teams in club competitions occurred in 2005, when Guadalajara faced Boca Juniors in quarter finals. In the first leg, Guadalajara beat Boca Juniors 4–0,[https://www.rsssf.org/sacups/copa05.html Copa Libertadores de América 2005] by Juan P. Andrés on the RSSSF being considered one of the greatest achievements of Mexican teams over Argentine rivals.[https://chivaspasion.bolavip.com/noticias/Partidos-epicos-Chivas-de-Guadalajara-goleo-4-0-a-Boca-Juniors-en-Cuartos-de-Final-de-la-Copa-Libertadores-2005-20201118-0012.html Partidos épicos: Chivas goleó 4-0 a Boca Juniors en Cuartos de Final de la Copa Libertadores 2005] by Eduardo Ceccato García, 18 nov 2020 In the second leg at La Bombonera, Chivas player Adolfo Bautista mock Boca Juniors supporters which caused Martín Palermo beat him. As a result, both were sent off while Boca Juniors coach, Jorge Benítez, spit at Bautista's face. The final 0–0 score eliminated Boca Juniors from the competition and the match passed into history as an embarrassing scandal.[https://www.espn.com.ar/futbol/copa-libertadores/nota/_/id/7012167/a-15-anos-de-boca-chivas-y-el-escupitajo-del-chino-benitez-al-bofo-bautista A 15 años de Boca-Chivas y el escupitajo del Chino Benítez al Bofo Bautista] by Franco Macchi on ESPN, 14 Jun 2020 Benítez's misconduct caused Boca Juniors fired him after the incident.[https://www.lanueva.com/nota/2005-6-16-9-0-0-boca-determino-el-despido-de-benitez Boca determinó el despido de Benítez] on La Nueva, 16 Jun 2005

Tigres UANL became the second Mexican team to play a Copa Libertadores final in 2015, but they lost to River Plate (0–3 on aggregate).{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/aug/06/river-plate-win-copa-libertadores-title|title=River Plate win third Copa Libertadores title with victory over Tigres|date=6 August 2015|work=Guardian|access-date=6 August 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.goal.com/en/match/river-plate-vs-tigres-uanl/2112160/report|title=River Plate 3 Tigres 0|date=6 August 2015|work=Goal.com|access-date=6 August 2015}} After the 2017 edition, Mexican teams would decline to participate in Copa Libertadores due to scheduling problems.[https://www.telam.com.ar/notas/202102/543785-concacaf-equipos-mexico-copa-libertadores-copa-libertadores-conmebol-futbol.html Concacaf, en contra de los mexicanos que quieran jugar la Libertadores] on Télam, 6 Feb 2021