Mexico vs Colombia Ends 1-1 in Rafa Marquez's Coaching Debut
Update log (1)
- — Updated before kickoff on 3 October 2026. This page said the match against the United States had been reported only through the U.S. Soccer Federation and was not yet confirmed by Mexico's federation, and that Peru was still to come. The fixture is now listed everywhere that publishes Mexico's schedule: Saturday, 3 October, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, kickoff 7 p.m. local time (10 p.m. ET). It had not kicked off as of this update, so the page gives no result, lineup or preview. Mexico's 29 September match against Peru ended 1-1 in Harrison, New Jersey, and the schedule table now shows both results. The Chile match on Tuesday, 6 October, which this page had listed without a venue, is at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Its kickoff time is reported inconsistently, so none is given.
- 🔑 Mexico and Colombia played to a 1-1 draw in an international friendly on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, marking Rafa Marquez’s first match in charge of Mexico’s senior national team since his appointment following the team’s 2026 World Cup run.
- Colombia took the lead in the 9th minute when Luis Suarez converted a chance created by a delivery from Richard Rios. Mexico did not level the score until well into the second half, when 17-year-old midfielder Gilberto Mora scored his first goal for the senior national team.
- Mora’s equalizer came in the 62nd minute, a finish that followed a high-press turnover Mexico won near Colombia’s box. It was the first senior international goal of Mora’s career, and it came while he wore the number 10 jersey under Mexico’s new coaching staff.
- Winger Hirving Lozano returned to Mexico’s squad for this match after an extended absence from national-team call-ups. Published reports differ on exactly how long that absence lasted, so no specific duration is stated here.
- The draw opened a four-match window for Mexico under Marquez. Peru followed on September 29 in Harrison, New Jersey, and also ended 1-1. As of October 3, 2026, the United States match is set for that evening at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (7 p.m. local, 10 p.m. ET), and Chile on October 6 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. No betting odds, point spreads, or win-probability figures appear anywhere in this article.
Mexico and Colombia played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, in Rafa Marquez’s first match as head coach of Mexico’s senior national team. Colombia’s Luis Suarez opened the scoring in the 9th minute, and 17-year-old Gilberto Mora equalized for Mexico in the 62nd. The result was Mexico’s first game since its 2026 World Cup run ended, and the first of a busy fall schedule under its new manager.
What was the final score of Mexico vs Colombia?
Mexico and Colombia finished 1-1 in an international friendly played Saturday, September 26, 2026, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The game was Rafa Marquez’s debut in charge of Mexico’s senior team, and it doubled as the opening match of a new international window that also marked the return of winger Hirving Lozano to the squad. Neither side found a winner after Mora’s equalizer, and the match ended level.
How did Colombia take the lead?
Colombia scored first, in the 9th minute, when Luis Suarez finished off a delivery from Richard Rios to beat Mexico’s goalkeeper. The early goal put Mexico in a hole just minutes into its new coach’s first game in charge, and Colombia carried a 1-0 lead into the second half. Suarez’s goal held up as the difference for more than 50 minutes of play before Mexico found its response.
How did Mexico equalize?
Mexico leveled the score in the 62nd minute through 17-year-old midfielder Gilberto Mora, who finished after Mexico’s press forced a turnover near Colombia’s box. It was Mora’s first goal for the senior national team, scored while wearing the number 10 shirt, and it beat Colombia’s goalkeeper to make it 1-1 — the score at which the match finished. The move that created it was described consistently across match reports as a high-pressing sequence that won the ball back high up the field before Mora finished the chance.
What did Rafa Marquez’s coaching debut look like?
Rafa Marquez took charge of his first match as Mexico’s head coach on September 26 and came away with a draw rather than a win. Marquez was appointed to lead the senior national team into the cycle following Mexico’s exit from the 2026 World Cup, where England eliminated Mexico 3-2 in the round of 16 . For his first game, Marquez kept much of the core group from that World Cup squad while also giving a central attacking role to teenager Gilberto Mora and recalling Hirving Lozano to the fold. The result was a draw against a Colombia side that had led for most of the match — a mixed first outing that nonetheless produced a signature moment in Mora’s equalizer.
Did Hirving Lozano play in the match?
Yes — winger Hirving Lozano returned to Mexico’s squad for the Colombia match after an extended stretch away from national-team call-ups. Reports on exactly how long that absence lasted are not consistent with one another, so this article does not state a specific figure. Marquez included Lozano in his first squad as head coach, and Lozano was part of the matchday roster against Colombia on September 26.
What’s next for Mexico after the Colombia draw?
The draw was the first of four matches scheduled for Mexico across a busy September and October window under Marquez. As of October 3, 2026, two have been played. The second, against Peru on September 29 in Harrison, New Jersey, also ended 1-1; it is covered in our Mexico vs Peru recap . The third is the United States, on Saturday, October 3, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, with kickoff at 7 p.m. local time (10 p.m. ET). It had not kicked off as of this update. The window closes against Chile on Tuesday, October 6, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Status as of Oct 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 26 | Colombia | M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD | Played, 1-1 |
| Sept 29 | Peru | Sports Illustrated Stadium, Harrison, NJ | Played, 1-1 |
| Oct 3 | United States | State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ | 7 p.m. local (10 p.m. ET), not yet played |
| Oct 6 | Chile | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA | Scheduled |
The bottom line
Rafa Marquez’s first game as Mexico’s head coach ended in a 1-1 draw against Colombia, with Luis Suarez’s early goal for Colombia canceled out by a first senior international goal from 17-year-old Gilberto Mora. Hirving Lozano’s return to the squad added another storyline to a match that opened a new chapter for Mexico’s national team after its 2026 World Cup run. Peru has since ended 1-1 as well, and with the United States and Chile still to come as of October 3, Marquez’s group has two more matches this window to build on what a 1-1 draw in Baltimore started.
How we verified this
The final score and both goals were checked against at least four independent source types. Spanish-language Mexican sports outlets carried full match reports and live-blog recaps within hours of the final whistle on Saturday, September 26, 2026; separately, English-language sports-wire coverage and syndicated recaps confirmed the same scoreline, goal-scorers, and minute markers the following morning. All of them agree: Colombia’s Luis Suarez opened the scoring in the 9th minute (assisted by Richard Rios), and Mexico’s Gilberto Mora equalized in the 62nd minute for a 1-1 final.
⚠️ Hirving Lozano’s return to the squad is confirmed, but exactly how long he had been away is not — sources disagree. Some accounts describe an absence of under a year; others describe roughly two years. Rather than pick one, this page reports only that he returned after an extended absence and does not state a specific length.
✅ The rest of Mexico’s window was re-checked on 3 October 2026, before the United States match kicked off. USA vs Mexico on Saturday, 3 October at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, kickoff 7 p.m. local time (10 p.m. ET), appears on ESPN’s Mexico fixtures page, in U.S. Soccer’s own match preview (7 p.m. MT), in NBC Sports’ viewing guide (10 p.m. ET), and in Mexican outlets’ schedule guides (El Financiero and TUDN), which now list it alongside the other three matches. The Peru result (1-1, 29 September, Harrison, New Jersey) was checked against ESPN’s match page. Chile on Tuesday, 6 October at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum appears on ESPN’s fixtures page, on the Coliseum’s own event page, in the Los Angeles FC announcement of Mexico’s fall tour, and in those same Mexican guides. Sources differ on the Chile kickoff time, 7:00 p.m. versus 7:30 p.m. Pacific, so this page gives none.
🔴 No betting odds, point spreads, moneylines, or win-probability figures of any kind appear anywhere on this page. This is a factual recap of a completed match plus a schedule of already-announced fixtures, one of which had not been played as of this update. No result for it is given and none is forecast here.