‘No one believed in us’ - Looking back, 20 years after Mexico’s historic U17 World Cup triumph with Carlos Vela, Giovani dos Santos and Jesús Ramírez’s golden generation

Oct. 2, 2005 is etched in the memory of Mexican football. On that day, a squad of teenagers - most of them still unknown back home - lifted Mexico’s first FIFA World Cup trophy at the U17 level. Coached by Jesús “Chucho” Ramírez, the team stunned Brazil 3-0 in the final in Lima, introducing the phrase “México, campeón del mundo” to the global stage for the very first time.

That golden generation included the likes of Giovani dos Santos, Carlos Vela, César Villaluz, Enrique Esqueda, Héctor Moreno, Efraín Juárez, and Ever Guzmán. In Peru, they didn’t just compete - they dominated.

The final showcased the lethal partnership that would go on to define El Tri’s youth ranks for years: Dos Santos and Vela. Gio’s creativity and daring runs repeatedly tore defenses apart, while Vela’s killer instinct punished every mistake. Mexico’s opening goal in the final summed it up perfectly: Dos Santos slipped free, Vela applied the finish.

In an interview years later with Mediotiempo, Juan Carlos “Torito” Silva admitted the squad thrived on proving doubters wrong:

“Nobody believed in us," he said. "But we were never insecure, never afraid. Chucho made us visualize everything - we’d lie down, close our eyes, imagine being world champions. We even imagined playing Brazil in the final. And it happened. Everything we pictured came true.”

The celebration of Omar Esparza's goal, Silva said, embodied that team’s essence: raw passion, grit, and an unwavering belief in themselves.

But what happened to that golden crop? Some, such as Vela, Dos Santos, and Moreno, made their mark at the highest levels. Others struggled to keep pace. For Ramírez, though, the project was always about more than one tournament. Speaking to ESPN, he reflected on the legacy:

“They had already won a World Cup," he said. "They’d gone to another at U20 level. It was supposed to be the foundation for bigger things. But then ideas changed. A new coach came in with different preferences and suddenly those eight years of development didn’t matter anymore.”

Even with mixed outcomes for individual careers, the 2005 team remains a touchstone moment. That night in Lima showed Mexico it could dream bigger on the world stage - and, most importantly, it could win.