Mexico’s World Cup Record-Breaker Quitting Soccer After Tournament

The goalkeeper has matched Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo by going to a sixth World Cup in 2026.

Guillermo Ochoa is a World Cup legend. | CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images

The 2026 World Cup is Mexico legend Guillermo Ochoa’s last dance in professional soccer.

The goalkeeper, 41 next month, and at his sixth World Cup to match Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, will hang up his gloves for good after the tournament.

Ochoa has played more than 900 games at senior club and national team level since starting out with América more than 20 years ago. He debuted for El Tri in 2005 and—like Messi and Ronaldo—there is only one World Cup (2002) in the 21st century that he hasn’t been present for.

Ochoa’s World Cup performances for Mexico have made the curly-haired shot-stopper a cult hero for global fans who only really see him play every four years.

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Club Ochoa vs. Mexico Ochoa

Ochoa was always best in a World Cup. | Hector Vivas/Getty Images

Part of the reason Ochoa tends to fall off the international radar between World Cups is the distinct separation between his impressive national team career and a relatively modest club career.

With Mexico, Ochoa was arguably the best goalkeeper at the Copa América in 2007, which earned him a Ballon d’Or nomination. Having been a backup for the World Cup in 2006 and 2010, he rose to global prominence in 2014 as Mexico’s starter and was rated highly by journalists. In 2018, Ochoa then collected the Silver Glove as the second-best goalkeeper at that World Cup.

Overall, the goalkeeper won six Gold Cups with Mexico—a starter in four.

At club level, Ochoa has only won one trophy in the last 20 years. He helped América to domestic and regional titles in the early years of his career, before the club hit a dry spell that ended shortly after his 2011 departure.

Then came time at Ajaccio in France, narrowly avoiding relegation from Ligue 1 twice before falling through the trapdoor—at least playing behind a poor defense gave Ochoa practice. He wasn’t a starter in a subsequent spell at Malaga in Spain and never scaled the heights of a major European team. After a trophy-less three-year return to América ended in 2022, he has played for small top-flight clubs in Italy and Portugal, as well as in Cyprus.

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Will Guillermo Ochoa Play in the 2026 World Cup?

Ochoa is a backup for Mexico in 2026. | Hector Vivas/FIFA/Getty Images

Ochoa’s run as Mexico No. 1 ended in 2024, although he retained a place on the roster as a backup through last year’s Gold Cup and returned to the fold in March after a few months away, when it looked like his El Tri career might finally be over.

Raúl Rangel is the new starter, but it’s also still feasible Ochoa could be handed gametime, especially that he is soon retiring. Should Mexico, having beaten South Africa, win against South Korea on Thursday and guarantee a place in the knockout rounds, it is definitely possible that Javier Aguirre could turn to Ochoa when El Tri face Czechia in a game that wouldn’t have anything riding on it.

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