Mexico vs Costa Rica Player Ratings; El Tri Lets Golden Opportunity Slip Away
The Mexican National Team let a golden opportunity slip away today as they tied 0-0 at the Estadio Azteca against Costa Rica. The tie now prevents Mexico from jumping ahead of the US in the standings after the Americans fell 2-0 to Canada in Ontario earlier in the day. Panama overcame an early 1-0 deficit to earn a much-needed victory against Jamaica and remain in the 4th spot.
Mexico will face a surging Panamanian team that will give it their all on Wednesday in hopes of handing El Tri another “Aztecazo”.
Ratings work on a scale of 1 to 10. A rating of 1 means a straight red early in the game, a 6 means an average game, and 10 means a hat trick or out-of-this-world performance.
As always these are my opinions but you can let me know your feelings on Twitter at @NachitoChavez10.
Let’s take a look at how the Mexican players fared against Costa Rica today.
Starting 11:
Defense
GK – Guillermo Ochoa – Ochoa made 3 saves during the course of the game and kept his composure during Costa Rica’s counterattacks. Accurate with his feet. Kept Mexico in the game. Rating: 7
CB – Héctor Moreno – Had an okay game. Showed his age and lack of speed during Costa Rica’s counters. Not much chemistry on the field with his Monterrey teammate. Pushed up the field during the latter part of the game but could not make an impact. Rating: 6
CB – César Montes – El Cachorro played a solid game. He connected in 50/54 of his passes and had some beautiful looping passes to the wingers. Struggled a bit against Joel Campbell. Should start the next game. Rating: 6
LB – Jesús Gallardo – The darling of the past 2 Mexican coaches, Gallardo has fallen out of form and out of favor. The Monterrey left-back lost possession 7 times and could not connect in any dangerous plays. Consequently, he was substituted in the 62nd minute. One has to wonder how much longer Martino will keep him in the starting 11. Rating: 5
RB – Luis Rodríguez – To the joy of Mexico fans everywhere (especially Twitter and Reddit) Chaka will not be available against Panama due to accumulating a yellow card in the 50th minute. Mexico relied on El Chaka to connect with players in the box but his awful play continued in the Azteca. With Jorge Sanchez out due to injury, Julian Araujo should start in place of Rodriguez. Rating: 5
Midfield
CDM – Edson Álvarez – The Ajax midfielder did not look 100% during today’s game. Scratched off against Jamaica due to a lingering injury, Alvarez probably should’ve remained on the bench for today’s game. El Machin failed to connect with his midfield partners losing possession 9 times and constantly looking lost. Hopefully, he can recover against Panama. Rating: 5
CM – Charly Rodríguez – Substituted at halftime, El Charly has not impressed during his last 2 outings with La Seleccion. The Cruz Azul star connected with only 20 passes with less than 80% accuracy. I think Tata has seen enough of Rodriguez’s lack of creativity and play unless Andres Guardado is unable to go on Wednesday. Rating: 5
CM – Héctor Herrera – Mexico’s most consistent midfield player the last two games. El HH completed over 117 passes and dictated most of the play. He created 2 key chances but Mexico was unable to execute. Will continue to be relied upon but will need more creativity. Needs to shape up defensively. Rating: 6
Forwards
LW – Hirving Lozano – Looked frustrated on the field and committed 5 fouls. The Napoli forward failed to bother Kaylor Navas with most of his shots flying high up from the goal. None of his 5 attempts at goal were on target. Lozano needs to be sharper against Panama for Mexico to come out on top. Rating: 5.5
RW – Jesús Corona – Tecatito came down to Earth after his out-of-this-world performance on Thursday. Provided 16 crosses but only connected with 5. Costa Rica brought a double team every time he got the ball in either wing and was unable to make a difference. Rating: 6
ST – Rogelio Funes Mori – Funes Mori has 1 goal in the last 665 minutes with Mexico. El Mellizo continued to struggle in the box, always a step too slow and incapable of showing positional awareness. The Monterrey striker will continue to get chances if Jimenez is injured but his lack of production is alarming. Rating: 5
Substitutes:
45’ – Luís Romo – Came in for an injured Edson Alvarez. Had one shot at goal that hit the crossbar but failed to create much elsewhere. Had a 92% passing rate but many of these being horizontal and not vertical to disrupt the Costa Rican backline. Does not seem like starting 11 material just yet. Rating: 6
45’ – Orbelín Pineda – El Magito wasn’t given too many chances at the ball but he was able to provide 2 key passes during his 45 minutes of play. Not sure how he fits in Tata Martino’s game plan at the moment and will most likely continue to come off the bench. Rating: 6
62’ – Henry Martín – The Club America forward was unable to replicate the goal production he had in Kingston against Costa Rica. Martin only had 4 touches of the ball during the game, a symptom of the lack of creativity from Mexico. Tata sees Martin at the bottom of the totem pole with Funes Mori and Jimenez around but with neither of them producing he might be given a chance against Panama. Rating: 6
62’ – Gerardo Arteaga – Substituted Jesus Gallardo on the left flank but was not given much of a chance to get involved offensively. Had 1 key pass and 1 cross during his 28 minutes of play. Will most likely remain on the bench for the next game. Rating: 6
74’ – Alexis Vega – Mexico’s best player during their last outing, was inexplicably benched and given less than 15 minutes of playing time. Only had 10 touches of the ball during his time on the field and failed to record a shot on target. Tata and his staff need to give more playing time to Mexico’s best player at this time. Rating: 6
Coaching:
Tata Martino: A tie at home will never please anyone. Martino sweated through 80 minutes until Mexico was able to score against Jamaica and ultimately get the win. This is not the Mexico that fans and the press expected after a lackluster 2021. The team in the field played without a sense of urgency, no chemistry between the midfield and the forwards, and was at high risk of losing at home.
Changes to the starting 11 included Edson Alvarez who was not 100% and was allowed to play, Alexis Vega who did not start after having a great game against Jamaica, and Chaka and Gallardo, who again failed to make an impact. The former Atlanta United coach is quickly running out of excuses and will now face a must-win game against Panama to keep Mexico in a guaranteed World Cup qualification spot. Rating: 4
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