Mexico vs Argentina: The friendly match FMF rejected due to "strange" conditions

Reports continue to emerge that damage the reputation of the way the Argentine Football Association (AFA) conducts its business, and the latest one involves a friendly match between Argentina and the Mexico national team that was never played as preparation ahead of both teams’ participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The match would have served as a warm-up for both national teams before the tournament, where Javier “Vasco” Aguirre’s Mexico side was eliminated in the Round of 16 after losing 3-2 to England, which will precisely be the opponent of the reigning world champions in the second semifinal next Wednesday at Atlanta Stadium.

During the final FIFA international window before the 2026 World Cup, Mexico reopened the Estadio Azteca (now called Estadio Banorte) in a match against Portugal, although Cristiano Ronaldo did not play, and later faced Belgium at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, at the end of March. However, before those matches were confirmed, Mexico had already secured a game against Lionel Messi’s Argentina, but the agreement reportedly fell apart for the following reason:

Why did the Mexico-Argentina friendly before the 2026 World Cup fall through?

“Mexico, while looking for opponents to finalize its preparation ahead of the 2026 World Cup, ended up finding Portugal and Belgium, but it had already made contact with Argentina. There was already an agreement with Argentina to play against the reigning world champions,” journalist Carlos Ponce de León said for sports newspaper Récord.

“The problem was that from the Argentine Federation, they told the Mexican Federation (FMF): ‘You know what, it’s $6 million dollars for the match.’ It’s crazy. They are the national team that charges the most to play a soccer match, even more expensive than Portugal.”

“And they told the FMF: ‘It’s $6 million, but guess what? You deposit one part here, another part here, and another part here.’ In other words, you have to distribute the money among different places. The Mexican Federation said: ‘I’ll give you the money and you can distribute it however you want.’ The response was: ‘No, we need your help with this, etc.’ That’s when the warning signs appeared, and the FMF said: ‘We are not going to get involved in problems.’”

Mexico’s 2026 World Cup preparation friendlies

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