Mexico: 3 Key Takeaways from Bland Draw Against Costa Rica

A scoreless draw from Mexico against Costa Rica left a lot to talk about this past Sunday. Here we bring you the three key takeaways of the second of three matches for El Tri in this World Cup qualifying window.

CONCACAF’S BEST KEEPERS

The no-goal draw allowed us to see two of the best goalkeepers of CONCACAF and FIFA in action.

Guillermo Ochoa, current Club América goalie, had a solid performance against Costa Rica. ‘Memo’ is categorized as one of the best goalies in Mexico’s history, with whom he has been champion of CONCACAF’s major tournament, Gold Cup, in four instances; 2008, 2011, 2015, and 2019. The Guadalajara-born player can also call himself an Olympic medalist as he was part of the national team’s bronze medal win in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

On the other side, the three-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid, Kaylor Navas, was one of the key players of the match. The Costa Rican contributed to keeping a clean slate against the home team in the Estadio Azteca. With ‘Los Merengues,’ Navas also won the FIFA Club World Cup four times and was able to qualify for the quarterfinals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil with his national team. The ‘Tico’ keeper currently plays for French club Paris Saint-Germain.

BOO’S AND NEGATIVE CHANTS BY MEXICO FANS

Mexico fans made sure their disappointment was heard at the Azteca. In a match that only allowed 2,000 fans after the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) won an appeal from the Court of Arbitration for Sport after the team was sanctioned to play behind closed doors for the infamous “homophobic” chant, the nearly-empty stadium echoed with boo’s when Rogelio Funes Mori came off the pitch at the 62nd minute.

 

 

 

 

 

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In his time with the Mexican National Soccer Team, the center-forward hasn’t been able to earn full support of the Mexican fanbase as he’s only been able to score five goals in 13 games. The Argentinian-born player made his debut with the El Tri on July 4th, 2021 in a friendly match against Nigeria where he scored his first goal.

Chants of “Fuera Tata” (“Tata Out”) were also heard coming from those in attendance. It’s important to mention that those allowed in the stands were a selected group of family members, sponsors, and employees of the Mexican National Team and (FMF).

Los 2 mil invitados al partido gritaron “Fuera Tata”, lo del argentino y sus vacas sagradas es insostenible, no vamos a llegar a ningún lado jugando así. Ellos cumplieron con no gritar la palabra prohibida pero nadie les dijo que no podían abuchear y expresar su molestia. pic.twitter.com/bxjpWNEaO5

— Futboleros (@futbolerosof) January 31, 2022

If the Argentinian head coach isn’t able to obtain the minimum seven out of nine points that FMF president Yon De Luisa expects, his time as Mexico’s head coach might be cut short.

MEXICO REMAINS IN THE SAFE ZONE, FOR NOW

It is safe to say that a majority of soccer enthusiasts thought Mexico earning a direct ticket to the Qatar 2022 would be a piece of cake. However, following the bland draw against ‘Los Ticos,’ El Tri occupies the third spot in the qualification standings of the CONCACAF’s Octagonal table with still one of three direct tickets to the World Cup.

The men managed by Gerardo Martino enter the Wednesday home match against Panama obligated to win, as a tie would keep them at risk of losing the direct pass and, of course, a defeat would put them in fourth place and in an inter-confederation playoff.

A Mexico victory, combined with a USMNT draw or defeat against Honduras would benefit the Mexican squad and put them in the safe zone.

Currently, Canada occupies the number one spot sitting with 22 points. The United States is in second, tied at 18 points with Mexico, whom are in the third position due to a one-goal difference. In fourth is Panama with 17 units.

 

 

 

 

 

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El Tri Online was founded in December 2017 to serve English-speaking fans of Mexican Soccer. Our mission is to create compelling Mexican soccer content and share it via our website, streaming apps, social media, and any other medium for English-dominant Mexican-American fans of the Mexican National Team, Liga MX, and their players.

 

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