06/14/2026
🇲🇽 On March 15, Mexico City set a Guinness World Record — 9,500 people gathered in the Zócalo for the largest football training session ever held anywhere on earth. Not in a stadium. In the same square where Mexican independence was declared, where Sheinbaum rang the independence bell, where hundreds of thousands watched El Tri open the World Cup two weeks ago. The record was set in the most historic public space in the country, on a Tuesday afternoon, just because Mexico wanted to.
This is the country the US State Department warns people not to visit. The same country that just opened the World Cup with a flawless ceremony, a 2-0 win, and 87,500 people in a stadium named after the Aztec civilization. 9,500 people kicking footballs in the Zócalo on a weekday does not make international headlines. A Guinness World Record set in one of the most significant public squares in the Western Hemisphere barely registered outside of Mexico. But it happened — and four billion people are starting to pay attention.
What do you think the world is going to know about Mexico by the time the World Cup final is played on July 19 that it didn't know on June 10? Tell me in the comments.
