A record from Ochoa: written alongside Messi and Ronaldo

Mexican football's legend Guillermo "Memo" Ochoa made history at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The 40-year-old goalkeeper came on for Raul Rangel in the 78th minute of Mexico's 3-0 win over Czechia to feature at his sixth World Cup, becoming one of three footballers to hold this record.

With this achievement, Ochoa joined a special club only two other names in football history have reached: Argentina's Lionel Messi and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo. The three players go on record as the only footballers to feature at six different World Cups. For the Mexican keeper, this journey began at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and continued through South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, now extending to 2026 on home soil.

Ochoa's adventure across these six tournaments carries a striking consistency. Unused as a substitute at the 2006 and 2010 tournaments, the experienced keeper earned global fame for his performances at Brazil 2014; his saves against hosts Brazil in particular were etched into memory. Having started in 2014, 2018 and 2022, Ochoa this time was in the squad at 2026 as backup to Mexico's first-choice keeper Rangel, and wrote his name into history with this brief cameo against Czechia.

Alongside this record, Ochoa also claimed the title of the oldest Mexican player to feature at a World Cup; the previous record belonged to Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who played at 37 in 2010. Having announced he will retire from professional football after this tournament, which Mexico host, Ochoa had said this sixth World Cup would be the final one of his career. This extraordinary journey spanning two decades became one of the most striking examples of how long a goalkeeper can remain the symbol of a national team.

Image: Goal