Mexico fall to Japan, on the brink of elimination.

The U-20 Mexican National Team is facing elimination after losing to Japan 3-0 in their second game of the U-20 World Cup in Poland.

Mexico’s youth team came into this tournament with high expectations but suffered a devastating blow after losing 2-1 to Italy in their opener. The Mexican side came into this game feeling the pressure from the fans and the media and knew that anything less than a victory would be catastrophic.

The Mexican youngsters started the game with a solid pace, and it appeared as though it would only be a matter of time before they got on the board. Just went it seemed as though that was going to be the case, the Japanese side derailed the Mexican’s plans when Taisei Miyashiro scored in the 21st minute to give the Asian team the 1-0 lead.

That pretty much sealed the Aztec team’s faith as the completely lost control of the match and spent the rest of it chasing the Japanese around the field. Mexico lacked any sense of great urgency and created very little opportunities the rest of the first half.

The second half proved to be similar to the first as Japan looked poised and Mexico looked lost. Only seven minutes into the second half, Kyosuke Tagawa scored Japan’s second goal of the game on a header. That goal put the Asians with a very comfortable margin and made El Tri appeared even more lost. The Japanese would strike once again in the 76th minute to make it 3-0 and hand Mexico a devasting blow and almost seal their early exit from the tournament.

With two games down and only a game remaining against Ecuador, the Mexican team needs a colossal victory over the South Americans. In addition, they would likely have to wait for help if they hope to advance to the knockout stage.

The last match will not be any easier than the first two as Ecuador also has their backs against the wall and will need a victory after having lost their last game versus Italy.