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Though Mexico has never gone further than the quarterfinals in the World Cup, the current Mexican team has enough talent and strength to surprise you in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Also called El Tri, Mexico is the first and only team from CONCACAF nation to be seeded by FIFA, joining teams like Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Italy, Spain and Germany. The Mexican squad for the 2006 World Cup is a fine mix of experienced campaigners and exceptionally talented youngsters. The Mexican team has world-class goalkeepers, defenders and strikers. The captain and star defender Rafael Marquez is one of the finest defenders in the world today, while the goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez is simply outstanding. Other key players in Mexican team are star strikers Jared Borgetti and Francisco Fonseca and all-action midfielder Jaime Lozano.
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Mexico played its first international match against Guatemala way back in 1923, and made its first appearance in the World Cup finals in 1930. Mexico hosted the World Cup in 1970 and the 1986, and on both occasions the team reached up to the quarterfinals. The Mexican team did achieve considerable success on regional level, but unfortunately it couldn't be translated into global success. The team won the Gold Cup in 1993, 1996, 1998 and 2003, and the Confederation Cup in 1999. In recent years, Mexico has emerged as one of the strongest and most challenging teams in the world. They defeated Argentina (1-0) in the 2001 Copa América, and championship victory in the 2003 Gold Cup brought more confidence to the Mexican team. The real glory for Mexco came in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, when they defeated World Champions Brazil in the group stage, and losing to Argentina in the PSO (5-6) in the semi-finals. They fought hard for the 3rd spot with Germany, losing only in extra time by 3-4. Though Mexico finished 4th in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, they proved to the world that they are definitely a force to be reckoned with on the global stage.
The Mexican team is currently ranked 6th in the latest (April 2006) FIFA World Football Ranking. The 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany will be the 13th world cup appearance for Mexico, and the manager Ricardo La Volpe and captain Rafael Marquez have their squad ready to rumble. Mexico is placed in Group D, along with Iran, Angola and Portugal in the 2006 World Cup. Mexico will play its first match against Iran on June 11 in Nuremberg, Germany, and the team has every chance of making it to the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup for the first time on foreign soil. The Mexican team has proved that it has enough talent and strength to surprise even the World Champions, and it would be one of the favorite teams to watch in the FIFA World Cup 2006, starting on June 09, 2006 in Munich, Germany. With the good talent Mexico squad has, it just might reach to semifinals, to finals and even win the World Cup.
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