3 Takeaways from Mexico’s Win Against Panama
Mexico and Tata Martino were headed into a crucial battle going into tonight’s match, having played a very lackluster past two games although coming out with 4 points. El Tri with the player roster it has was playing well under par to expectations, and with Panama looming just 1 point away in the 4th position of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers this match was crucial to Tata Martino’s head coaching position within the team.
Luckily for Tata Martino and Mexico, Raul Jimenez (Wolverhampton) was able to score the lone goal for Mexico with a penalty kick in the 80th minute. After Diego Lainez was brought down in the box and a controversial to many, a penalty kick was called.
Mexico’s Play Still Leaves Major Doubt
Mexico was able to survive this round of World Cup Qualifiers coming out with a very much needed 7 points out of a possible 9pts. Even though for many that would be considered a great qualifier week, Mexico does not have the luxury of leaving any points on the table if they wish to continue being in the driver’s seat in the wild Concacaf Qualifiers.
Mexico’s play for this World Cup Qualifier rounds has been extremely underwhelming under Tata Martino, struggling and playing a very dull style that has caused many to wonder if Tata is the right man for the job. With the victory today they stay close to their rivals from the north and add a cushion between them and the dreaded play-in spot which Mexico hopes to never repeat again as they did in the Brazil World Cup Qualifiers.
Martino has been stubborn in his roster selection, calling on some players who look like they no longer deserve a spot amongst the starting XI, which has caused the team to look sluggish. If Martino and El Tri hope to keep a top 3 spot in the qualifiers, adjusting the starting XI with a fresh and younger core could be beneficial, especially in the final round of qualifier matches, one being against the United States in Mexico City in March.
Raul Jimenez Is Still Mexico’s Best Striker
Due to a lingering calf injury, Raul Jimenez was unable to play the previous two World Cup Qualifier matches against Jamaica and Costa Rica. In his absence, Tata Martino played Henry Martin (Club America) and Rogelio Funes Mori (Monterrey) in the previous two matches but both strikers had little to no impact and were unable to get on the board for Mexico.
In his lone game during this round of World Cup Qualifiers, Jimenez’s ability and vision although a little rusty at times when finishing or passing, the clear distance between the quality of strikers Mexico has is evident.
With Jimenez’s penalty scored, he has now converted on 33 out of 36 penalty shots taken in his professional career. This includes at the club level and official FIFA matches with Mexico.
Mexico found Wing Backs of the Future
Many Mexico fans have been left scratching their heads and pleading as to why Tata Martino has kept insisting on calling on some players who have not been in top form for some time now while leaving other young promising players on the bench or off the roster completely. Up until today, we had yet to see the young promising players Gerardo Arteaga (Genk) and Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy) on the pitch at the same time.
Arteaga was able to start the game, possibly not because it was Tata’s first choice but it was almost a desperation time for Tata. Arteaga wasted no time though proving his place on the national team is being part of the starting XI.
Araujo was another player everyone was excited to see play in this round of qualifiers, and although he got limited time on the pitch in the 22 minutes of play he got the young MLS player was able to showcase his speed and his offensive-minded ability which is something the Mexican National Team has been lacking from its wingbacks.
These two players deserve the chance to be part of the starting XI for El Tri and showcase their skills in helping Tata secure their ticket to Qatar in the final three qualifier matches.
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