Mexico

World Cup participations: 12 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1978, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2002)

World Cup honours: Quarter-final 1970 and 1986

Continental Titles: Three times NAFC champions (1947, 1949, 1991), three times CONCACAF champions (1965, 1971, 1977), three times Gold Cup (1993, 1996, 1998), five times Central American champions (1935, 1938, 1959, 1966, 1990), three times Pan American champions (1967, 1975 with Brazil, 1999)

· Mexico have qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals 12 times more often than world powers such as France and England for example.

Mexico have come down a few rungs in the FIFA ranking over the past few years. A first-ever home qualifying defeat - in 2001 to Costa Rica - was bad enough, but a 2-0 drubbing at the hands of northern neighbours, the United States, in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan second round has Mexican supporters worried about their place at the top of the North, Central American and Caribbean Zone. However, Mexico are still confident that they are more than capable of reaching their 13th finals. With one of the strongest leagues in the region and a balanced pool of skilful players to choose from, that goal should be reachable.