Veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa is set to become the first goalkeeper in history to appear at six FIFA World Cups after being named in Mexico’s squad for the 2026 tournament.
The 40-year-old joins Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina star Lionel Messi as players selected for a sixth World Cup finals.
Ochoa, who plays for Cypriot club AEL Limassol, made his first World Cup appearance in Germany in 2006 and has remained a key figure in Mexican football for two decades.
However, unlike Ronaldo and Messi, who remain first-choice players for their national teams, Ochoa is not expected to play a leading role after dropping down the goalkeeping pecking order in recent years.
Mexico head coach Javier Aguirre included the experienced goalkeeper in a 26-man squad that also features forwards Raul Jimenez of Fulham and Santiago Gimenez of AC Milan.
Spain-born midfielder Alvaro Fidalgo and Colombia-born forward Julian Quinones were also selected after becoming important members of the national team following their naturalisation.
Teenage midfielder Gilberto Mora is set to make history as Mexico’s youngest-ever World Cup player if he features during the tournament.
For Aguirre, 67, the tournament will mark his third World Cup as Mexico coach after leading the team at the 2002 and 2010 editions.
Mexico will co-host the competition alongside Canada and the United States and will open the tournament against South Africa in Mexico City on June 11.
They will then face South Korea on June 18 before completing their group-stage campaign against the Czech Republic on June 24.
Mexico squad
Goalkeepers: Raul Rangel (Guadalajara), Guillermo Ochoa (AEL Limassol), Carlos Acevedo (Santos Laguna).
Defenders: Israel Reyes (America), Jorge Sanchez (PAOK), Cesar Montes (Lokomotiv Moscow), Johan Vasquez (Genoa), Jesus Gallardo (Toluca), Mateo Chavez (AZ Alkmaar).
Midfielders: Edson Alvarez (West Ham United), Luis Romo (Guadalajara), Obed Vargas (Atletico Madrid), Brian Gutierrez (Guadalajara), Orbelin Pineda (AEK Athens), Erik Lira (Cruz Azul), Gilberto Mora (Tijuana), Cesar Huerta (Anderlecht), Alvaro Fidalgo (Real Betis), Luis Chavez (Dynamo Moscow).Forwards: Roberto Alvarado (Guadalajara), Alexis Vega (Toluca), Julian Quinones (Al-Qadisiyah), Santiago Gimenez (AC Milan), Guillermo Martinez (Pumas), Armando Gonzalez (Guadalajara), Raul Jimenez (Fulham).
