The Mexican Football Federation appointed former international defender Rafael Márquez as head coach of the senior national team on Wednesday, two days after Mexico’s elimination in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, which it is co-hosting with the United States and Canada.

Márquez, 47, succeeds coach Javier Aguirre, having previously served as one of his assistants on the coaching staff.

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The Mexican federation stated in a statement that Márquez would ensure 'continuity of the project' launched by Aguirre in 2024, which ended with the team’s 3-2 home loss to England in the World Cup round of 16. It added that Márquez’s appointment also aims to 'strengthen the sporting development' of the national team and prepare for upcoming international commitments, chief among them the CONCACAF Nations League scheduled for late 2026.

Márquez, nicknamed 'El Kaiser of Michoacán,' the state where he was born, played 147 international matches for Mexico and participated in five World Cups (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018), four of them as captain.

During his playing career, Márquez won the UEFA Champions League in 2006 and 2009 and four La Liga titles with Barcelona. He also won the French league with Monaco in 2000. With the Mexican national team, he won the Confederations Cup in 1999 and was runner-up in the 2001 Copa América.

The fourth-most capped player in Mexican national team history began his second career as sporting director of Atlas Guadalajara, the club where he started his professional career. As a coach, he oversaw youth teams at Real Sociedad Deportiva Alcalá in Spain (2020/2021) and then coached Barcelona Atlètic, Barcelona’s reserve team, from 2022 to 2024.

He joined the coaching staff of the Mexican national team, known as 'El Tri,' in 2024.