Cross into the middle for Mario Gomez. The Germany striker cleverly redirects the ball toward goal with the outside of his boot, only to be denied once again by Germany’s final boss.
In the 89th minute, Guillermo Ochoa springs toward the ball at exactly the right moment and, with a world-class performance, seals Mexico’s 1-0 opening win at the 2018 World Cup.
For the goalkeeper, that is nothing unusual at a World Cup. Back in 2014, he drove Brazil to despair, and in 2022 he even made football history against Poland. Guillermo Ochoa is probably the biggest World Cup phenomenon of the past 20 years.
This summer, the Mexican could potentially play in his sixth World Cup and become the record holder for World Cup final tournaments. Above all, fate seems to be on his side.
Just under two weeks ago, a horror injury shook the Mexican national team. First-choice goalkeeper Luis Malagón ruptured his Achilles tendon in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The dream of a home World Cup was shattered, and coach Javier Aguirre was left desperate: who is supposed to guard El Tri’s goal this summer?
Could it really be Guillermo Ochoa, now 40 years old? Initial comeback rumors began circulating online and have been confirmed in recent weeks. Aguirre called Ochoa back up to the Mexico squad for the upcoming friendlies against Portugal and Belgium, his first national team call-up since 2024. Hopefully, though, he has already watched highlight videos from the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Right on cue for the start of each of those tournaments, Ochoa suddenly performed at a world-class level. At the 2018 World Cup, he was the goalkeeper with the most saves (25). In the 1-0 group-stage win over Germany alone, he stopped nine shots. And in 2022, the iconic curly-haired keeper delivered once again.
In the group match against Poland, he became the first Mexican ever to save a penalty. The taker? None other than Robert Lewandowski. Meanwhile, the goalkeeper went viral online under the hashtag “NoMemoNoParty.” But why has it been relatively quiet around the now 40-year-old between tournaments?
Despite his outstanding World Cups, Ochoa never had a truly huge club career. After spells in La Liga with Málaga and Granada, among others, he now plays for Cypriot top club AEL Limassol — as the first-choice keeper, of course. And that is exactly what he could show again at his sixth World Cup.
If coach Aguirre decides against him, he may have a small problem. Since the 2014 World Cup, Ochoa has often been called the “Wizard of Mexico” — someone who does incredible things for his country and who might even have put a spell on his coach if he ends up ruining what feels like an almost prewritten World Cup fairytale for us.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
