Mexico women's national football team

The Mexico women's national football team represents Mexico on the international stage. The squad is governed by the Mexican Football Federation and competes within CONCACAF, the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. It has won gold medals in the Central American and Caribbean Games and a silver medal in the Pan American Games team, as well as one silver and one bronze in the Women's World Cup prior to FIFA's recognition of the women's game. When it placed second in 1971, Mexico hosted the second edition of this unofficial tournament. In addition to its senior team, Mexico fields U-20 and U-17 squads as well, with the latter having reached the final during the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

Mexico women's national football team
Nickname(s)
El Tri Femenil
La Tri
AssociationFederación Mexicana de Fútbol
ConfederationCONCACAF (North America, Central America and the Caribbean)
Sub-confederationNAFU (North America)
Head coachChristopher Cuéllar
CaptainStephany Mayor
Most capsMaribel Domínguez (112)
Top scorerMaribel Domínguez (80)
FIFA codeMEX
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 27 1 (26 June 2020)[1]
Highest21 (January 2011)
Lowest31 (December 2002)
First international
 Mexico 9–0 Austria 
(Jesolo, Italy; 6 July 1970)
Biggest win
 Mexico 10–0 Malta 
(Bristol, England; 28 June 1997)
 Martinique 0–10 Mexico
(Bridgeview, United States; 18 October 2014)
Biggest defeat
 United States 12–0 Mexico 
(Port-au-Prince, Haiti; 18 April 1991)
World Cup
Appearances3 (first in 1999)
Best resultGroup Stage (1999, 2011, 2015)
CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup
Appearances7 (first in 1991)
Best result Runners-up (1998, 2010)

Coached by Leonardo Cuéllar for most of the team's official existence, La Tri's senior squad has participated in three Women's World Cups and one edition of the Summer Olympic Games.

The senior squad was first established in 1963, but its first FIFA-recognized game was in 1991.

History

Unofficial era

Although not officially recognized by FIFA until 1991, Mexico's team was actually established in 1963, when many countries still had bans on women's football.[2] In the 1950s, both Costa Rica and Argentina witnessed increased interest in the women's game and held tours in various countries. In 1963, Las Ticas, the Costa Rican women's national football team, spent six months in Mexico conducting a tour to increase exposure of the game. Observing the success of Las Ticas, Mexico formed its first team to play in opposition to the Costa Rican squad.

Led by Alicia Vargas, Mexico placed third in the 1970 Women's World Cup, a tournament FIFA has yet to acknowledge. Mexico fell 2-1 in the semifinal to hosts Italy before defeating England 3-2 in the third place match. The following year, Mexico hosted the 1971 Women's World Cup, which has also yet to be officially recognized. The squad reached the final but fell 3-0 to Denmark. An estimated 110,000 people attended the final at Estadio Azteca,[3] which is the largest crowd ever to witness a women's soccer game; FIFA has not recognized this attendance record either.

Modern era

In the 1980s, when a series of mundialitos took place, Mexico participated in the 1986 edition.[4] Mexico was placed in Group A along with Italy and Japan, but the team did not advance beyond the first stage.

Mexico's first official appearance in the Women's World Cup was in 1999, when the United States hosted the tournament. The team also qualified in 2011 and 2015, hosted by Germany and Canada, respectively. Likewise, the team qualified for the Summer Olympic Games in 2004. In all four instances, El Tri Femenil failed to advance beyond the group stage; in fact, the team has yet to win a single game in either major tournament.

The first official coach for the Mexico women's national football team was Leonardo Cuéllar. One of his first objectives was to qualify for the 1999 Women's World Cup.[5] The team accomplished this by placing second to Canada in the 1998 CONCACAF Women's Championship. However, much controversy arose regarding the nationalities of the recruited players. Preference was given to US-born players of Mexican heritage, largely because Mexico did not have an official league at the time. Andrea Rodebaugh, the team's then-captain, argued that the team's main goal was to qualify; she also wanted to strengthen the team and celebrate its official recognition.[6] Despite the controversy, the team went on to participate in the 1999 Women's World Cup with a mix of US-born and Mexican-born players.

In recent years, an increase in young talent developing in Mexico brought an increase of expectations from Mexican football fans and media alike. Following their worst ever World Cup finish in 2015, fans began calling for Cuellar's resignation or firing. In 2016, the women's national football team failed to qualify for the Olympics, and lost to Costa Rica which was the turning point in the team's history since many thought the defeat resulted in Mexico becoming the fourth best team in CONCACAF. With these results and Leonardo Cuellar's controversial decision to not bring Charlyn Corral and Kenti Robles, whom had terrific seasons at their clubs in Spain's Primera División, onto the squad[7] led to him resigning from his position in April 2016.[8] Roberto Medina became the head coach in 2017.[9]

In 2018 Mexico won the Central American and Caribbean Games by defeating Costa Rica 3-1 in the final.[10]

At the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship Mexico entered as the third highest ranked team behind the United States and Canada. At the tournament Mexico finished third in their group with a record of one win and two losses, which included a surprising 2-0 loss to Panama. As a result of not advancing to the knockout round, Mexico was unable to qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.[11]

Notable matches

Mexico's first recorded international game was against Austria during the 1970 Women's World Cup, when squad beat the European side 9-0 in the group stage. However, to participate in this inaugural tournament, teams had to qualify, so La Tri played against other teams prior to this match.

Before the modern era, Mexico defeated England 2-1 in the third place match of the 1970 Women's World Cup, the first edition of the tournament. In front of a record-breaking crowd, the team also reached the final of the 1971 Women's World Cup, but fell 3-0 to Denmark.

Among the most notable victories is when the team finished second in the 2010 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup. Hosts of the cup, Mexico defeated the United States in the semifinal for the first and only time before falling to Canada in the final.

Coaching staff

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2020 Cyprus Women's Cup.[12]

Caps and goals as of 11 March 2020, after the match against  Czech Republic.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Cecilia Santiago (1994-10-19) 19 October 1994 64 0 PSV Eindhoven
12 1GK Itzel González (1994-08-14) 14 August 1994 3 0 Tijuana

2 2DF Kenti Robles (1991-02-15) 15 February 1991 73 3 Real Madrid
3 2DF Arianna Romero (1992-07-29) 29 July 1992 47 1 Unattached
4 2DF Kimberly Rodriguez (1999-03-26) 26 March 1999 8 1 Oklahoma State Cowgirls
5 2DF Jimena López (1999-01-30) 30 January 1999 21 2 Texas A&M Aggies
13 2DF Ana Lozada (1997-07-22) 22 July 1997 1 0 América
15 2DF Monica Flores (1996-01-31) 31 January 1996 11 0 Monterrey

6 3MF Alexia Delgado (1999-12-09) 9 December 1999 8 0 Arizona State Sun Devils
7 3MF Mirelle Arciniega (1992-08-13) 13 August 1992 3 1 Puebla
8 3MF Bri Campos (1994-02-03) 3 February 1994 4 0 Umeå
10 3MF Yamilé Franco (1992-07-07) 7 July 1992 12 1 Monterrey
14 3MF Jennifer Muñoz (1996-11-04) 4 November 1996 2 1 América
16 3MF Amanda Pérez (1994-07-31) 31 July 1994 8 0 Sporting CP
18 3MF Diana García (1999-11-11) 11 November 1999 2 0 Monterrey
20 3MF Brenda León (1993-09-08) 8 September 1993 1 0 Cruz Azul

9 4FW Kiana Palacios (1996-10-01) 1 October 1996 21 2 Real Sociedad
11 4FW Viridiana Salazar (1998-01-02) 2 January 1998 2 0 Pachuca
17 4FW Mariela Jiménez (1997-12-13) 13 December 1997 1 0 UNAM
19 4FW Atzimba Casas (1994-09-14) 14 September 1994 1 0 Juárez

Recent call-ups

The following players were called up to the squad in the last 12 months.

This list may be incomplete.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Emily Alvarado (1998-06-09) 9 June 1998 6 0 TCU Horned Frogs 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
GK Bianca Henninger (1990-10-22) 22 October 1990 7 0 Retired 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
GK Alejandría Godínez (1994-02-24) 24 February 1994 2 0 Monterrey 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE

DF Bianca Sierra (1992-06-25) 25 June 1992 56 0 UANL 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
DF Rebeca Bernal (1997-08-31) 31 August 1997 23 0 Monterrey 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
DF Jocelyn Orejel (1996-11-14) 14 November 1996 12 0 América 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
DF Janelly Farías (1990-02-12) 12 February 1990 11 0 Guadalajara 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
DF Mariana Cadena (1995-02-13) 13 February 1995 3 0 Monterrey 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
DF Andrea Sánchez (1994-03-31) 31 March 1994 4 0 Guadalajara 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
DF Mónica Rodríguez (1998-08-03) 3 August 1998 1 0 América 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
DF Reyna Reyes (2001-02-16) 16 February 2001 0 0 Alabama Crimson Tide 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE

MF Stephany Mayor (1991-09-23) 23 September 1991 79 14 UANL 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
MF Karla Nieto (1995-01-09) 9 January 1995 25 0 Pachuca 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
MF María Sánchez (1996-02-20) 20 February 1996 24 3 Guadalajara 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
MF Liliana Mercado (1988-10-22) 22 October 1988 22 1 UANL 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
MF Lizbeth Ovalle (1999-10-19) 19 October 1999 18 4 UANL 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
MF Diana Evangelista (1994-11-05) 5 November 1994 4 0 Monterrey 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
MF Dinora Garza (1988-01-24) 24 January 1988 30 5 Monterrey 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
MF Nancy Antonio (1996-04-02) 2 April 1996 15 1 UANL 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
MF Joana Robles (1994-07-26) 26 July 1994 13 0 Atlas 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
MF Cristina Ferral (1993-02-16) 16 February 1993 11 1 UANL 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
MF Belén Cruz (1998-11-07) 7 November 1998 3 0 UANL 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
MF Ana López (1994-02-09) 9 February 1994 1 0 Pachuca 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
MF Silvana Flores (2002-04-18) 18 April 2002 0 0 Chelsea 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
MF Nicole Pérez (2001-08-30) 30 August 2001 0 0 Guadalajara 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
MF Maricarmen Reyes (2000-04-23) 23 April 2000 0 0 UCLA Bruins 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
MF Mónica Ocampo (1987-01-04) 4 January 1987 91 17 Pachuca Training camp, October 2019

FW Renae Cuéllar (1990-06-24) 24 June 1990 37 10 Tijuana 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
FW Daniela Espinosa (1999-07-13) 13 July 1999 12 0 América 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
FW Adriana Iturbide (1993-03-27) 27 March 1993 6 1 Atlas 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship
FW Charlyn Corral (1991-09-11) 11 September 1991 53 29 Atlético Madrid 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
FW Kaitlyn Johnson (1994-09-14) 14 September 1994 23 8 Chicago Red Stars 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
FW Katty Martínez (1998-03-14) 14 March 1998 10 1 UANL 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE
FW Desirée Monsiváis (1988-01-19) 19 January 1988 5 3 Monterrey 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship PRE

Player records

  • Maribel Dominguez: Mexico's top international goal scorer of all time, among both men's and women's squads, earning her the nickname "Marigol." Current coach of the U-17 women's team.
  • Stephany Mayor: Among the first-ever out LGBTQIA+ Mexican athletes and featured along with her fiancée Bianca Sierra in the New York Times.[9]
  • Mónica Ocampo: Scored a golazo against England in the 2011, which was selected by fans as the greatest Women's World Cup goal ever.[13]
  • Nicole Pérez: Honored as one of CONCACAF's Women's Best XI for 2018.[14]
  • Tanna Sánchez: Honored as one of CONCACAF's Women's Best XI for 2018.[14]
  • Cecilia Santiago: Youngest goalkeeper ever to appear in a Men's or Women's World Cup.
  • Bianca Sierra: Among the first-ever out LGBTQIA+ Mexican athletes and featured along with her fiancée Stephany Mayor in the New York Times.[9]

Most capped players

Top goalscorers

Results and schedules

  Win   Draw   Lose

2019

12 December FriendlyBrazil 6–0 MexicoArena Corinthians, Sao Paulo, Brazil
18:00
Report Referee: Thayslane de Melo Costa (Brazil)
Assistant referees: Leila Naiara Moreira da Crus (Brazil)
Assistant referees: Daiane Caroline Muniz dos (Brazil)
Fourth official: Rejane Caetano da Silva (Brazil)
15 December FriendlyBrazil 4–0 MexicoEstadio Fonte Luminosa, Araraquara, Brazil
15:30
Report Referee: Rejane Caetano da Silva (Brazil)
Assistant referees: Daiane Caroline Muniz dos (Brazil)
Assistant referees: Leila Naiara Moreira da Crus (Brazil)
Fourth official: Thayslane de Melo Costa(Brazil)

2020

29 January 2020 (2020-01-29) Olympic QualifyingMexico 1–0 JamaicaEdinburg, TX, United States
19:00
Report Stadium: H-E-B Park
Referee: Katja Koroleva (United States)
Assistant referees: Kathryn Nesbitt (United States)
Assistant referees: Felisha Mariscal (United States)
Fourth official: Tatiana Guzmán (Nicaragua)
1 February 2020 (2020-02-01) Olympic QualifyingMexico 6–0 Saint Kitts and NevisEdinburg, TX, United States
14:30
Stadium: H-E-B Park
Referee: Tatiana Guzmán (Nicaragua)
Assistant referees: Brooke Mayo (United States)
Assistant referees: Kathryn Nesbitt (United States)
Fourth official: Crystal Sobers (Trinidad and Tobago
4 February 2020 (2020-02-04) Olympic QualifyingMexico 0–2 CanadaEdinburg, TX, United States
17:30 Stadium: H-E-B Park
Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva (United States)
Assistant referees: Felisha Mariscal (United States)
Assistant referees: Brooke Mayo (United States)
Fourth official: Tatiana Guzmán (Nicaragua)
7 February 2020 (2020-02-07) Olympic QualifyingMexico 0–4 United StatesCarson, CA, United States
19:00 Stadium: Dignity Health Sports Park
Referee: Melissa Borjas (Honduras)
Assistant referees: Chantal Boudreau (Canada)
Assistant referees: Stephanie-Dale Yee Sing (Jamaica)
Fourth official: Myriam Marcotte ((Canada)
5 March 2020 2020 Cyprus Women's CupMexico 1–1 CroatiaLarnaka, Cyprus
13:00
Report
Stadium: GSZ Stadium
8 March 2020 2020 Cyprus Women's CupSlovakia 2–2 MexicoLarnaca, Cyprus
18:00
  • Hmírová  11'
  • Mikolajová  29'
Report
Stadium: AEK Arena

Competitive records

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup Record
Year Round Position MP W D* L GF GA
1991Did not qualify
1995
1999Group Stage16th3003115
2003Did not qualify
2007
2011Group Stage11th302137
2015Group Stage22nd301228
2019Did not qualify
2023To be determined
Total3/99036630
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
FIFA Women's World Cup history
YearRoundDateOpponentResultStadium
1999 Group stage19 June BrazilL 1–7Giants Stadium, East Rutherford
24 June GermanyL 0–6Civic Stadium, Portland
27 June ItalyL 0–2Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough
2011 Group stage27 June EnglandD 1–1Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg
1 July JapanL 0–4BayArena, Leverkusen
5 July New ZealandD 2–2Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim
2015 Group stage9 June ColombiaD 1–1Moncton Stadium, Moncton
13 June EnglandL 1–2
17 June FranceL 0–5TD Place, Ottawa

Olympic Games

Summer Olympic Games Record
Year Round Position MP W D* L GF GA
1996Did not qualify
2000
2004Quarter-Finals8th301218
2008Did not qualify
2012
2016
2020
2024 To be determined
2028
Total-1/6301218
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

CONCACAF Women's Championship

CONCACAF Women's Championship Record
Year Round MP W D* L GF GA
1991Group Stage3102916
1993Did not enter
1994Third Place4112619
1998Runners-up5311206
2000Group Stage3102107
2002Third Place5302117
2006Third Place320162
2010Runners-up5302117
2014Third Place5302177
2018Group Stage310249
2020Semifinals420276
Total-402021810186
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Pan American Games

Pan American Games Record
Year Round Position MP W D* L GF GA
1999 Runners-up 2nd 6 3 1 2 15 9
2003 Third Place 3rd 4 3 0 1 10 5
2007 Fourth Place 4th 5 3 0 2 6 1
2011 Third Place 3rd 5 2 2 1 3 2
2015 Third Place 3rd 5 3 0 2 10 7
2019 Fifth Place 5th 4 2 1 1 10 5
2023 To be determined
Total-6/62916496429
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Central American and Caribbean Games

Central American and Caribbean Games Record
Year Round Position MP W D* L GF GA
2010Withdrew
2014 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 11 1
2018 Champions 1st 5 5 0 0 18 3
2022To be determined
Total-2/310910294
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Algarve Cup

The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and longest-running women's international football events and has been nicknamed the "Mini FIFA Women's World Cup."[15]

Algarve Cup record
Year Result Matches Wins Draws Losses GF GA GD
20059th place421157−2
20068th place311194+5
20138th place4202440
Total3/27115241815+3

Overall official record

CompetitionStageResultOpponentPositionScorers
1991 CONCACAF TournamentGroup stage0–12 United States
1–3 Trinidad and Tobago
8–1 Martinique3 / 4
1994 CONCACAF TournamentGroup stage0–9 United States
0–6 Canada
3–1 Jamaica
3–3 Trinidad and Tobago3 / 5
1998 CONCACAF TournamentGroup stage3–2 Costa Rica
7–1 Haiti
2–2 Trinidad and Tobago1 / 4
Semifinals8–0 Guatemala
Final0–1 Canada
1999 World CupGroup stage1–7 BrazilDomínguez
0–6 Germany
0–2 Italy4 / 4
1999 Pan American GamesGroup stage1–1 United States
2–3 Canada
5–1 Costa Rica
5–1 Trinidad and Tobago3 / 5
Semifinals2–2 (PSO: 5–3) Canada
Final0–1 United States
2000 Gold CupGroup stage3–4 CanadaDomínguez 2, Mora
7–0 GuatemalaMora 4, Domínguez 3
0–3 China3 / 4
2002 Gold CupGroup stage0–3 United States
5–1 PanamaGómez 2, Domínguez, Leyva, Sandoval
2–0 Trinidad and Tobago2 / 4Gerardo 2
Semifinals0–2 Canada
Third place match4–1 Costa RicaDomínguez 2, González, Mora
2003 Pan American GamesGroup stage1–0 Costa RicaWorbis
3–1 ArgentinaMora, Rosales, Worbis
Semifinals2–3 CanadaLeyva, Mora
Third place match4–1 ArgentinaLeyva, Mora, Moreno, Rosales
2004 Summer OlympicsGroup stage1–1 ChinaDomínguez
0–2 Germany2 / 3
Quarterfinals0–5 Brazil
2006 Gold CupGroup stage3–0 Trinidad and TobagoDomínguez, González, P. Pérez
Semifinals0–2 United States
Third place match3–0 JamaicaOcampo 2, Domínguez
2007 World Cup qualificationAFC-CONCACAF play-off0–2 2–1 JapanDomínguez, Leyva
2007 Pan American GamesGroup stage5–0 ParaguayCorral 2, Ocampo 2, Valdez
0–1 Argentina
2–0 PanamaWorbis 2
3–2 United States U20López 2, Worbis
Semifinals0–2 Brazil
Third place match1–2 CanadaWorbis
2008 Summer Olympics qualificationGroup stage8–1 JamaicaLópez 4, Morales 2, Ocampo, Worbis
1–3 United States2 / 3Worbis
Semifinals0–1 Canada
2010 Gold CupGroup stage7–2 GuyanaDomínguez 4, Garza, Worbis
2–0 Trinidad and TobagoDomínguez, López
0–3 Canada2 / 4
Semifinals2–1 United StatesDomínguez, V. Pérez
Final0–1 Canada
2011 World CupGroup stage1–1 EnglandOcampo
0–4 Japan
2–2 New Zealand3 / 4Domínguez, Mayor
2011 Pan American GamesGroup stage0–0 Chile
1–1 Trinidad and TobagoDomínguez
1–0 Colombia2 / 4V. Pérez
Semifinals0–1 Brazil
Third place match1–0 ColombiaRuiz
2012 Summer Olympics qualification'Group stage5–0 GuatemalaDomínguez 3, Diaz, Garza
7–0 Dominican RepublicGuajardo 3, Diaz, Ruiz, Saucedo
0–4 United States2 / 4
Semifinals1–3 CanadaV. Pérez
2014 CONCACAF Women's ChampionshipGroup stage0-1 Costa Rica
10–0 MartiniqueSamarzich, Duarte 2, Mayor, Guillou (o.g.), Garciamendez, Garza, Ocampo 2, Noyola
3-1 Jamaica2 / 4Mayor, Corral 2
Semifinals0-3 United States
Third Place Match4-2 Trinidad and TobagoMayor, Ocampo, Corral 2
2015 World CupGroup stage1–1 ColombiaV. Pérez
1–2 EnglandIbarra
0-5 France4 / 4
2015 Pan American GamesGroup stage0–1 Colombia
3–1 ArgentinaNoyola, Rangel, Ruiz
3-1 Trinidad and Tobago2 / 4Mayor 2, Ocampo
Semifinals2-4 BrazilRomero, Rangel
Third place match2-0 CanadaOcampo, Mayor
2016 Summer Olympics qualificationGroup stage6-0 Puerto RicoDomínguez 3, Garciamendez, Rangel, Johnson
0-1 United States
1-2 Costa Rica3 / 4Domínguez
2018 CONCACAF Women's ChampionshipGroup stage0-6 United States
4-1 Trinidad and TobagoCorral 2, Johnson, Sanchez
0-2 Panama3 / 4
2019 Pan American GamesGroup stage2-0 JamaicaPalacios, Corral
1-2 ParaguayMayor
2-2 Colombia3 / 4Caracas (o.g.), Corral
Fifth place match5-1 PanamaOvalle 2, Rodriguez, Mayor, Martínez
2020 Summer Olympics qualificationGroup stage1-0 JamaicaCuéllar
6-0 Saint Kitts and NevisPalacios, López, Mayor, Cuéllar 2, Mercado
0-2 Canada2 / 4
Semifinals0-4 United States

Head coaching history

1. Nicolás Rodríguez: As La Tri’s first official coach between 1991 and 1998, Rodríguez took an inexperienced and under-resourced squad to the 1991 CONCACAF Women's Championship in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Sending only one qualifier from the confederation to the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup, this tournament fielded eight teams divided into two groups. Matches were also only 80 minutes long. In Group A, Mexico lost to eventual winner United States 12-0, its worst ever appearance. With a loss against Trinidad and Tobago and a win against Martinique, Mexico finished third in the group, failing to advance to the semifinals. Likewise, during the 1994 CONCACAF Women's Championship, which determined the two qualifiers for the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, Mexico finished in third place, failing to reach the international tournament yet again.

2. Leonardo Cuéllar: Once a highly-touted player for the Mexico men’s national football team, Cuéllar took over El Tri Femenil after a brief stint as the women's soccer coach at CSULA. Head coach until 2016—a period of 18 years—Cuéllar had a questionable record. As head coach, Mexico only qualified for the world cup on three occasions and the Olympics once; his teams never won a single game in any major tournament, nor did they finish first in the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup. Common criticism of his leadership was his nepotism and overreliance on US-born players. Cuéllar was never at risk of losing his job despite dubious results, and he even hired close allies, including his son Christopher Cuéllar. He also regularly held tryouts in the United States without doing the same in Mexico.

Initially charged with taking the squad to the 1998 CONCACAF Women's Championship, which would award 1.5 qualification slots to the 1999 Women's World Cup, he was successful in qualifying for the team's first ever appearance at the official tournament. Finishing first in its group and winning against Guatemala in the semifinal, Mexico eventually fell 1-0 to Canada in the final. Mexico went on to qualify for the cup after defeating Argentina in the CONCACAF-CONMEBOL playoff match. Cuéllar was very lucky to qualify. The tournament expanded from 12 teams to 16 teams and the United States was the host, so their squad automatically qualified; had these two changes not been made, Mexico would have likely been out.

Cuéllar went on to schedule friendlies and participate in organized tournaments, but with few victories. The team qualified for 2011 and 2015, but his coaching style remained consistent. Frustration grew among his players after his call-ups involved much controversy. As players like Charlyn Corral and Kenti Robles demanded change, Cuéllar began to omit them from future squads. Likewise, he discriminated against Stephany Mayor and Bianca Sierra for being in a relationship, leading to their infrequent call-ups as well. His reign eventually ended when Mexico failed to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

3. Roberto Medina: Promoted from U-20 squad to the senior team without any official announcement from the FMF, Medina served as head coach from 2016 to 2018. With few victories—including a 3-0 win against Venezuela early in his tenure, his technique was essentially a continuation of Cuéllar's style. Though he was praised after Mexico won the gold during the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games, he was relieved of his position after failing to advance out of the group stage during the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship. With losses to Panama and the United States, Mexico did not qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup despite having the Liga MX Femenil and the most talented generation it had seen up until this point. Historically weaker teams, such as Jamaica and Panama, advanced further than the squad, signifying that other teams had surpassed Mexico. After his ouster, he became head coach of Tigres. Medina had been the U-20 coach one other time, but elected to coach a men's team just before a world cup.

4. Christopher Cuéllar: With no official announcement, Cuéllar Jr. replaced Medina after the team failed to qualify for 2019. Cuéllar, the son of Leonardo Cuéllar, was promoted after serving as the U-20 women's squad coach. Like his predecessors, Cuéllar Jr. has had limited results. During the 2019 Pan American Games, La Tri finished in fifth place after failing to advance beyond the group stage despite the absence of both the United States and Canada. Throughout his first 21 games as DT, the team has had 6 victories, 5 draws, and 10 losses. Their best win has been against the Czech Republic, ranked 28th in the world (with whom they've also tied), whereas their worst loss was against Paraguay, ranked 48th. Despite upcoming dates like the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Cuéllar Jr. was seen working with men's teams. #FueraCuellar has trended on Twitter multiple times.

Domestic recognition

In various occasions, fans have showed up in large numbers to support La Tri. When Mexico played against Denmark in the 1971 Women's World Cup final, over 100,000 showed up at Estadio Azteca. Likewise, when Mexico played Argentina in a playoff game to qualify for the 1999 Women's World Cup, over 70,000 fans were in attendance.

Until recently, attention around the women's team was dwarfed by the men's squad. Few matches were televised or advertised, limiting knowledge around the team's achievements and struggles. Former ESPN commentator Nelly Simón frequently advocated for more attention to this team. Likewise, after winning the gold medal at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games, Kenti Robles called on news outlets and fans to pay more attention to them. However, with increased attention in the women's game after the establishment of the women's league in 2017, more games have been televised. Since then, millions watched Mexico play in the U-17 world cup final against Spain in 2018.

gollark: Mekanism.
gollark: Anyway, I think we should put all the lasers on the underside of some ~y240 sky platform on turtles, spread out to prevent them shooting each other by accident, and with a teleport receiver fed power with a power cell or solar panel.
gollark: No, and because daylight saving they're maybe both wrong.
gollark: It's "only" nearly midnight here.
gollark: Anyway, sascha, try and get ender IO going a bit, bug Terra into making AE2 components actually available to people (esp. certus quartz, meteors, nether quartz as we can't access the nether and meteors don't gen by default here), and work on the lasers.

See also

References

  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  2. "Costa Rica women have history to draw on in first Women's World Cup". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
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