Mexico 86 is one of the few soccer movies where I changed my opinion about the film after reading interviews of Director Gabriel Ripstein.
Watching the film, I thought it was a silly portrayal of a fictional man, Martín de la Torre (Diego Luna), whose driving ambition is to bring the 1986 World Cup to Mexico. Martín has the talents to achieve this because he is smart, ambitious, a fast talker, and a hard-core liar. He also loves Mexico, football, and his downstairs mistress, Susana.
In the Story
Martín rapidly works his way up to the Presidency of the Mexican Football Federation (FMF or Femexfut – Federación Mexicana de Fútbol). From there, he convinces FIFA that Mexico is the best choice as the last-minute replacement host for WC 1986. Then, just 6 months before the tournament, the country is hit with the devastating 1985 Mexico City earthquake. Martín must persuade FIFA not to take the games away nor move them to the USA. Martín’s skills and a cash infusion (i.e. bribes) from Mexican billionaire Emilio Azcárraga convince FIFA officials that Mexico should continue to host.
The tournament is a huge success, and Martín’s ambitions grow. He wants Mexico to win the U-20 World Cup, and to ensure that, he falsifies players’ birth certificates so that older men can compete as if they were teenagers.
When the scam is exposed, not only does Martín end up banned by FIFA, but Mexico is also banned from any international play for 2 years. Meaning that Mexico is not allowed to compete in the following World Cup, WC 1990 in Italy. Martín falls from the heights of his aspirations to the bottomless pit of national disgrace, but his spirit remains undaunted.
In Reality
Writer-Director Ripstein and star Diego Luna are also co-executive producers. They insist that this film is based on a true story and that the character Martín de la Torre does not exist. Martín is instead an amalgam of many real people and their stories and fictions. OK guys, if you insist.
But in reality, there is a real Femexfut president who brought WC 1986 to Mexico, who made it a success, and who ended up banned from football for life. His name was Rafael del Castillo, and he died a few months before the film debuted, at age 92. Before he passed away, the Mexican Federation honored his achievements by admitting him into its Hall of Presidents. I could not figure out what the real Rafael del Castillo did after his ejection from football, but I assume his can-do attitude led him to a long and happy life.
Beyond Rafael del Castillo’s story, Gabriel Ripstein wanted to show the reality of the power-brokering and corruption that goes on in “winning” world cup hosting rights. Portraying the reality without getting sued could best be done by making the story absurdist and comical. Martín del Torre is so passionate about football, his country, and his desire to be someone, that he will lie and pretend loyalty and friendship to everyone in power. He manipulates everyone and everything, but in a way we find funny because it is so over the top. But as fans, we need to remember that Mexico 86 is not far from the truth.
Back in the 1980s, the age-cheating known in Mexico as cachirul, was very common throughout many sports. Before watching this film, I did not know that Mexico had been banned from WC 1990 because of the Cachirules scandal. According to wikipedia, Mexico was the first to suffer so greatly from age-cheating, thus establishing a turning point to reduce the practice.
In Conclusion
To host the world cup has probably never been an honest campaign, but FIFA has institutionalized personal enrichment, corruption, and back-door deals. As we know from Gianni Infantino’s scandalous attempt to sell the World Cup to a private equity firm, the biggest tournament in the world is big business. From soccer movies I have reviewed, we know that hosting the world cup is also a political asset for sportswashing.
As Gabriel Ripstein points out, someday someone will create a film that brings the circumstances of WC 2026 to light. When that happens, I will not be laughing. The politics and corruption throughout WC 2026 turned me off to soccer. It is partially why I have lost my enthusiasm for reviewing soccer movies.
Mexico 86 is a fun film if you are a fan of Diego Luna, as his performance makes this movie worth watching. Note that he was the GK in Rudo y Cursi.
But in my heart, I fear that when we find corruption funny, we normalize it and accept it as a way of life. Ripstein says his film exemplifies Mexican culture. I hate to see the USA become that way as well.
7 Soccer Movie Mom Rating = 7
Resources:
- Released: 2026-05-24 (Mexico)
- 1 hr 35 mins
- I watched this on Netflix
- In Spanish with English subtitles
- IMDB
- WIKI in Spanish
- Director: Gabriel Ripstein
- Stars: Diego Luna (Martín) , Karla Souza (Susana)
- Watch the Trailer
