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The 2026 World Cup will mark Mexico icon Guillermo Ochoa's farewell to professional football.
The goalkeeper, who turns 41 next month and is appearing at his sixth World Cup — matching the feat of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo — will retire from the sport once the tournament concludes.
Ochoa has accumulated over 900 appearances at club and international level since beginning his career with América more than two decades ago. He made his El Tri debut in 2005 and — like Messi and Ronaldo — has only missed one World Cup (2002) in the 21st century.
Ochoa's standout World Cup displays for Mexico have turned the curly-haired goalkeeper into a cult figure among global supporters who largely only get to watch him compete every four years.
Club Ochoa vs. Mexico Ochoa
One reason Ochoa tends to disappear from the international spotlight between World Cups is the clear contrast between his stellar national team career and a comparatively unremarkable club career.
With Mexico, Ochoa was widely considered the finest goalkeeper at the 2007 Copa América, an achievement that earned him a Ballon d'Or nomination. After serving as a backup at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, he burst onto the global stage in 2014 as Mexico's first-choice keeper and received widespread praise from journalists. At the 2018 World Cup, Ochoa went on to claim the Silver Glove as the tournament's second-best goalkeeper.
In total, the goalkeeper lifted six Gold Cups with Mexico — starting in four of those triumphs.
At club level, Ochoa has managed just one piece of silverware over the past 20 years. He contributed to domestic and regional glory with América in the early stages of his career, before the club endured a barren run that ended shortly after his departure in 2011.
A subsequent stint at Ajaccio in France saw him narrowly escape relegation from Ligue 1 on two occasions before eventually going down — though facing a struggling defense at least gave Ochoa plenty of match practice. He failed to nail down a starting spot during a later spell at Malaga in Spain and never broke through at a top European club. Following a three-year return to América that yielded no trophies and ended in 2022, he has since featured for lower-profile top-flight sides in Italy, Portugal, and Cyprus.
Will Guillermo Ochoa Play in the 2026 World Cup?
Ochoa's reign as Mexico's No. 1 came to an end in 2024, though he held onto a backup role through last year's Gold Cup and was recalled to the squad in March following a brief absence, during which his El Tri career had appeared to be over.
Raúl Rangel has taken over as the first-choice keeper, yet it remains entirely plausible that Ochoa could still see some playing time, particularly given his impending retirement. Should Mexico — having already defeated South Africa — secure victory over South Korea on Thursday and clinch a spot in the knockout rounds, Javier Aguirre could well turn to Ochoa when El Tri face Czechia in a match with nothing at stake.