In the history of the World Cup, Brazil ranked first with 20 participations, Germany ranked second with 18 times, and the third-ranked national team was not France, nor Spain or England, but Mexico, the boss of the North American region, a total of 17 times. In the final round of the North American World Preliminary Round, Mexico can steadily qualify for the World Cup as long as it does not lose miserably, and at the critical moment, Mexico refuses to drop the chain and advances to the Qatar World Cup with a victory.
As the leader of the North American region, Mexico is ranked 9th in the world and could have qualified several rounds in advance, but due to the 2 draws and 2 defeats in 4 matches against the United States and Canada, the lead could not be extended, and the final round of qualification for the World Cup was needed.
With a three-point lead over fourth-place Costa Rica and four goals difference, Mexico was under pressure, and the final round was against world number 74 Salvador, and Mexico could qualify without losing 0-4.
In the 16th minute of the first half, Araujo grabbed a nodding hammer that was saved by Mario Gonzalez, and Antuña followed up with a small angle to help Mexico take a 1-0 lead.
In the 43rd minute, Antuña was tripped inside the penalty area and Raul Jimenez hit the penalty to help Mexico extend their advantage 2-0.
In the end, Mexico won 2-0, because the United States lost to Costa Rica, Mexico rose to the second place in the North American region, and successfully qualified for the World Cup. Against El Salvador, Mexico had the upper hand across the board, with 58% possession, 17 shots on goal and 6 shots on target, while Salvador only had 6 shots on goal and did not shoot on target.
This is the 17th time in the history of Mexico to qualify for the World Cup, and eight consecutive promotions, which means that Mexico has not missed the World Cup for 28 consecutive years since the 1994 World Cup, and the stability is very strong.
However, before 7 consecutive participations, the team stopped the World Cup round of 16 consecutively, unable to move forward, so it has the title of "World Cup Top 16".
Mexico's national population is as high as 131 million, ranking in the top ten in the world, the level of football in North America is very high, the world can also be among the second-rate, to be among the first-class, the World Cup rushed to the top four is the best indicator.