The country staged the tournament in both 1970 and 1986 (pictured below); the latter only after Colombia was first named as host and then was forced to withdraw.

"Mexico was a great host in '70 and '86, so we are indeed going to fight, we want to have a World Cup [again]," said Compeán.

"There will be a strong competition with the United States [but] Mexico's football infrastructure keeps growing and that World Cup can be feasible for Mexico."

Mexico is one of four countries to have hosted the World Cup on two occasions, along with Italy in 1934 and 1990, France in 1938 and 1998, and Germany in 1974 and as West Germany in 2006.

Argentina beat West Germany 3–2 in the Mexico 1986 World Cup final at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca

"FIFA is always more demanding with all the structures that are needed," said Compeán.

"The great competitor [for 2026] is the United States, which has great resources, great stadiums, triple the population we have and all that counts."

The United States hosted its first World Cup in 1994 – the last time the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) region was chosen – and Compeán explained that even if Mexico loses out to its neighbour, it would still reap the benefits on and off the field.

"Assuming the United States were to get the [2026] World Cup, we would still win because on a sporting level we wouldn't have to face each other in the qualifiers," he added.

"We're three hours from the border and we have millions of nationals living on the other side so we'd be playing as a home team."

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