Mexico (El Tri) In Brazil……..
As part of the list of countries to have hosted the World Cup but not winning one, Mexico is a traditional dominant team in the CONCACAF. Their participation in the World Cup is to an extent as automatic as their arch rival, the United States.
Amongst these two giant teams in the CONCACAF, Mexico is widely considered as the more passionate side.
There is the belief that the intensity of the passion from the Mexican fans plus their expectations of the Mexican team, surpasses that of their arch rival. There are times when these expecatations seems to be having a negative effect on the team. But this is futbol, you can’t expect any less from us fans.
Mexico complicated their qualification to the 2014 World Cup with a 2-5-3 (W-D-L) record and a 2 goal deficit in total. It was probably the most emotional game in the CONCACAF World Cup qualification, when USA (already qualified) knocked out Panama, basically gifting Mexico their tickets to the World Cup.
Panama needed a win to get a place in the play-off games. A late goal in the 83rd minute goal from by Luis Tejada, created a 2-1 score line that looked to have secured Panama’s place in the play-offs. The Americans broke the hearts of many neutrals and Panamanians with two extra late goals, coming in a minute apart after the 90 minutes mark. The game ended 2-3. #FUTBOL
Qualifying through the play-off games is never an indication of a team will be able to advance beyond the preliminary stage of the World Cup.
And when your arch rival has a really strong case about getting you into the tournament, the El Tri would be entering the 2014 World Cup very humble.
The Venom
We won’t have the ‘in-form’ Real Sociedad striker, Carlos Vela. And there will be no Cuauhtémoc Blanco, but the forward line up for Mexico will still maintain its usual strenght and entertainment.
He has spent a lot of time on Manchester United’s bench in recent seasons, but Javier ‘Chicarito’ Hernandez is one of the main target men on this team. He is the only active player with a good chance of passing Jared Borgetti’s record of 46 goals for Mexico.
At times it looks like the ball finds him instead of the vice-versa. A classic goal poacher. His physical size on the pitch compared to the average defender, allows him to patrol unspotted through the opposing back line. A defender will look inexperienced at their post, if he is not regularly checking his back.
Another key player is Gionvani dos Santos. And for a player who seems not to flourish in his club career, dos Santos is the most exciting player to watch on the team. He is a daring forward who calls for the ball in every game he plays. He shows no signs of being rusty with his pace and flair when he wears the Mexican shirt. It’s all about flair with this guy.
Giovani attracting attention
It will be the biggest offensive risk for Mexico to leave him out of the starting line-up. To say ‘look out’ for dos Santos will be quite pointless, you will notice him when he is on the team.
Oribe Peralta is another striker to be looking for. He lead the scoring team for Mexico in their quest for qualification, and he is looking like the favored striker.
However, be on the lookout for the up and coming star, Raul Jimenez. Jimenez is responsible for doubling Mexico’s wins in the World Cup qualifiers.
Control and Support
Whenever you are given the option to pick what news you will like to hear first, pick the good news. So yeah….
Good News– Mexico has participated and advance from their group in the last five Fifa World Cup competitions.
Bad News– Mexico has been eliminated in the Round of 16, in the last five Fifa World Cup competitions.
Mexico might not be part of CONMEBOL, but you can see the typical South American style of play from the team. There is an array of talent in the midfield area.
Some expected names should be on this roster. The recent line-ups have included a lot more younger and local based players. I am not too sure if this trend will carry on into the 2014 World Cup. We might just have to wait and see.
Pablo Barrera is a midfielder who will likely aid the strikers by coming into play a third supporting striker. Andres Guadado is another effective player that opposition would have to take note. He will likely be patrolling the left side of the pitch. He is an experience player who can read the game just as well as any of the great players in the competition.
The veteran Gerardo Torrado can play as the fulcrum, controlling and dispatching balls to ignite attack. David Cabrera, Jesus Molina and Pablo Barrera are some of the midfielders to sustain the mentality and tactics of the team.
Changing that record of getting booted right after the preliminary stage should be an objective for this supporting cast.
The Bouncers
Their not known for their defensive abilities, and it is a good thing that the team does not depend on defensive tactics to win games. They actually look awful when they are not going forward.
Veterans like Carols Salcido, Rafael Márquez, Francisco Javier Rodríguez and Paul Aguilar should be about enough leadership for the back line. The talents of Héctor Moreno, Jorge Torres Nilo, Adrián Aldrete the youngster Diego Reyes would ice the cake and give El Tri a quality back line.
So what do we have here? What are the odds?.
Just like the past 5 competitions, Mexico looks to be the team to get out of their group. And just like their group mates, their most competitive game is expected to be against Brazil.
The team has been a competitive when playing Brazil in recent times. It has taken a few defensive errors plus the lethal offence of Brazil to made score. In 2011, they knocked-out the Brazilians to win the Olympics. A trophy Brazil is yet to win. Their match in the World Cup might be one of those games where home advantage play some role in the final score line.
As to the other group games, the odds are for Mexico secure wins against Cameroon and Croatia. But this is futbol, there will be some drama, suspense and surprises, and that is why we will have to be watching to see if the Mexico will make their advantage count.
