The 2026 World Cup has become the stage for a long goodbye. Guillermo Ochoa, Mexico’s 40-year-old goalkeeper, used a FIFA interview this week to confirm that his sixth appearance at the finals will be his last, declaring that “football without Mexico has no meaning.” The announcement, which Ochoa first shared privately with head coach Javier Aguirre and his team-mates a week before the tournament, places him alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as one of only three men to have been named in six men’s World Cup squads. Aguirre, moved by the moment, reportedly promised the veteran he would try to grant him minutes on the pitch so his adiós could be more than a watching brief. Ochoa was an unused substitute in the opening 2-0 victory over South Africa, but the promise now hangs over Thursday’s second group fixture against South Korea in Guadalajara.

Viewed from the Mexican capital, the build-up has been meticulous and, at times, theatrical. The squad’s penultimate training session at the Centro de Alto Rendimiento south of Mexico City began under brilliant sunshine before a sudden downpour drenched the players for more than an hour, a meteorological twist that did little to dampen the mood. Aguirre, known as El Vasco, had ordered the installation of a special pitch replicating the exact grass type of the Estadio Guadalajara — renamed for commercial reasons during the tournament — to ensure his players were fully acclimatised. He kept his tactical cards close to his chest, concealing any changes to the starting eleven, while the security apparatus for the team’s transfer from the CAR to the AIFA airport and onward to Guadalajara was tested with reconnaissance runs and alternative route planning through Ecatepec and Tonanitla.

Mexico approach the South Korea match buoyed by history but alert to danger. The Tri have won all three of their previous World Cup meetings with the Koreans, a record that stretches back to France 1998 and offers a psychological edge. A second victory would all but guarantee top spot in the group and a path that keeps the dream of reaching the Estadio Ciudad de México alive. Yet analysts in Mexico City caution that South Korea’s speed and physical strength pose a different challenge to the one South Africa presented, and a draw would leave Aguirre’s men in serious difficulty ahead of the final group game.

Whether Aguirre honours his promise to Ochoa against the Koreans or in a later fixture remains an open question, but the gesture has already added an emotional subplot to Mexico’s campaign. For a nation co-hosting the tournament, the stakes extend beyond the pitch: a deep run would provide a fitting send-off for a goalkeeper who has symbolised Mexican resilience at World Cups for nearly two decades. The coming days will reveal if the farewell can begin on a winning note.