García also earned 52 caps for the Mexico national team, scoring three times. He made his international debut on February 7, 1996 in a 2-1 loss against Chile. In the 1996 U.S. Cup, he scored his first international goal with a bending free kick against the United States at the Rose Bowl. García represented Mexico in four matches of the 1997 Copa América, but missed the 1998 FIFA World Cup. After the appointment of Manuel Lapuente as national coach, García appeared at the 1999 Copa América and the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup, which Mexico won. Recalled to the team for the 2002 World Cup, he played 14 minutes in the opening-round match against Italy. García remained in the team under new coach Ricardo Antonio Lavolpe, helping Mexico to victory in the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup and scoring in the quarterfinal against Jamaica. Although he also played in the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup and five qualifying matches for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he did not play any matches in the 2006 competition itself. García made his final international appearance in a 2-1 loss to the Netherlands on June 1, 2006. New light has surfaced that nepotism was the reason why he participated in the World Cup games of 2006 as he is a relative of then Coach Ricardo La Volpe.