Local media reported on Tuesday that former Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal has passed away at the age of 93. Carbajal was the first footballer to compete in five different World Cup tournaments.
Carbajal, better known by his nickname “Tota,” competed for Mexico in goal at the World Cups held in Brazil in 1950, Switzerland in 1954, Sweden in 1958, Chile in 1962, and England in 1966. In all, he earned 11 caps for Mexico during his career.
Lothar Matthaus, a German midfielder, surpassed Carbajal’s record of playing in five World Cups in 1998. Prior to that, Carbajal held the record for appearing in five World Cups for 32 years.
Rafael Marquez and Andres Guardado, both of whom were Carbajal’s countrymen, as well as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, have since matched or even surpassed his record.
Carbajal claimed that he was scouted by Real Madrid between the years 1950 and 1954, however the Mexican never left his domestic league and spent the majority of his career in his hometown with Club Leon. Carbajal’s claim is contradicted by the fact that the Mexican never left his domestic league.
On June 24, 1950, Carbajal made his debut with the Mexico national team in the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, which was hosting the World Cup at the time. The match was against the hosts country, Brazil. He was the tournament’s youngest player to ever play the position of goalie.
At the World Cup in 1954, he played in one match, and at the World Cup in 1958, he played in three matches. At the World Cup in 1962, which was held in Chile, he became the only footballer ever to play in four World Cups. He also assisted his side in winning its first-ever World Cup match[4,] which they did by defeating Czechoslovakia by a score of 3–1. After another four years, Carbajal achieved another milestone by participating in the World Cup for the sixth time.
This record was tied in 1998 by the German player Lothar Matthaus, then broken in 2018 by his countrymen Rafael Márquez, and then broken again in 2022 by the Argentine Lionel Messi, the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, and two more of his compatriots, Guillermo Ochoa and Andrés Guardado. When the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup was held in Canada, Homare Sawa and Formiga made history by being the first football players to compete in the tournament for a record sixth time.
Carbajal made a total of 48 appearances for Mexico in their various international competitions. From 1950 through 1966, he played in 11 World Cup matches, and he was the goalie for all of them. He set a record for most goals allowed, which was later equaled by Saudi goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Deayea in 2002.