The tournament features 16 men's national teams from five continental confederations.

At the end of the group stage, the top two teams advanced to the knockout stage, beginning with the quarter-finals and culminating with the gold medal match at the Azteca Stadium on 26 October 1968.

This was the first time an Asian team won a medal, Japan claiming bronze.

With seven goals, Kunishige Kamamoto of Japan is the top scorer in the tournament.

As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.