Wearing a big smile and a trademark Mexican hat bearing the name of his country in red letters, Jesus Arturo Jauregui Sanchez was posing with people when I bumped into him in the middle of the night at Souq Waqif.
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The traditional Qatari market became a bustling hub for fans at the 2022 World Cup with people singing, dancing and beating drums until the wee hours of every night.
Mexico had long been knocked out of the tournament, but Sanchez was still there in Qatar. With a large Mexican flag draped around his shoulders, he was like a walking symbol of his country, sharing the joy of football with the fans from Morocco, France, Argentina, South Korea, Croatia and Brazil.
Now, three and a half years after Sanchez watched 16 matches in Qatar, he is struggling to get World Cup match tickets in his own country.
Mexico, the co-host alongside the US and Canada, are staging 13 of the 104 matches at the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
Nine of the 13 matches have already been played in the three Mexican host cities — Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.
With just four matches remaining, the sense of desperation is unmistakable in Sanchez, who said he was lucky to be given a ticket by his brother for the second match of the tournament between South Korea and the Czech Republic.
According to a Reuters report, the ticket price in the 2026 edition of the World Cup is five times higher than the Qatar World Cup, denying a lot of Mexican fans an opportunity to witness the football carnival on their own soil.
“I couldn’t get tickets for the opening match (between Mexico and South Africa) — they were simply too expensive. So, I ended up going to the South Korea vs the Czech Republic game. Luckily, my brother managed to get three tickets from the official website and gave me one, so at least I got to watch one match live,” Sanchez told the Khaleej Times over the phone from Puerto Vallarta, a popular Mexican resort town.
“Even during the Qatar World Cup, tickets weren’t cheap. But this time around, they are extremely expensive.”
Sanchez is even checking WhatsApp groups to try to find a ticket for at least one more match.
“Can you imagine I attended 16 matches in Qatar, now I cannot get tickets. The World Cup is being held in my own country, and I really wanted to attend as many games as possible,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the prices have made it impossible for many fans like us. A lot of my friends have failed to get tickets as well. They are all disheartened.”
The Mexican-Korean bonhomie
When Sanchez arrived in Qatar at 6 am on November 20 for the 2022 World Cup, watching matches was not his only priority.
A professional at Carl’s Jr, the American fast-food restaurant chain, Sanchez wanted to meet people from different backgrounds and build a connection with them.
In Qatar, he especially remembers his interactions with South Korean fans.
“In Qatar, after Mexico, the teams I supported the most were South Korea and France. Out of the 16 matches I attended, three were Korean games. I’ve always had a special love for South Korea, and I’m happy that I’ve now watched four of their matches — three in Qatar and one here in Mexico. And here at the Korea-Czech Republic match at Guadalajara, I got the chance to meet many Korean fans again, and it was wonderful,” he said.
The special bond between Korean and Mexican fans this time has become the defining story of the tournament as social media has been flooded with videos of the two sets of supporters singing together in the restaurants and on the streets and dancing to a mix of Latin hits and K-Pop chartbusters.
Sanchez said this bond hasn’t been built overnight, pointing to a crucial World Cup game between South Korea and Germany at the 2018 World Cup, with Mexico’s fate in the tournament depending on the result of that clash.
For Mexico to reach the knockout rounds of the 2018 World Cup, they needed South Korea to beat Germany, the four-time world champions.
In what was one of the biggest World Cup upsets in history, the already eliminated Korea stunned Germany 2-0, sparking wild celebrations in Mexico.
It’s not the BTS or the Blackpink, but the South Korean football team that holds a special place in every Mexican heart.
“Yes, that moment in 2018 was one of the most beautiful I’ve ever experienced in football,” Sanchez recalled.
“I was at the university that summer and watched the game with my mum. Korea’s 2-0 victory over Germany helped Mexico advance to the knockout stage. From that day on, I became a big fan of South Korea.
“I was so happy that I met so many Korean fans in Qatar. I attended the Korean matches at the 2022 World Cup. Now the only match I have watched (in Mexico) was also a Korean game.”
Qatar takes the cake
Sanchez said he would always carry a piece of Qatar in his heart.
“I stayed in Qatar for 25 days, and those were some of the best days of my life as a football fan. Even for matches I didn’t have tickets for, I could easily move around, go to fan zones, and enjoy the incredible atmosphere. Everything was so well organised,” he said.
“The trains and buses were free, and most stadiums were connected by metro. You would meet fans everywhere — on the streets, in the malls. It was such a beautiful experience.”
The 2026 World Cup is bigger in size, with three big countries hosting 104 matches in the 48-team format.
But Sanchez says it’s not the size, but the atmosphere that makes an event truly unforgettable.
“Of course, the World Cup is now in Mexico, the United States, and Canada, but Qatar was something truly special,” he said.
“The difference is in the size of these countries. Even the fans who have tickets, they need to take long flights from one city to another for matches. In Qatar, you had eight stadiums in one city, so it became so convenient for fans.
“And the way they organised everything was superb. So I don’t think any future World Cup will match the magic of Qatar 2022. It was the best football party I’ve ever experienced.”
Source: Khaleej Times