Mexico’s Qatar adventure comes to an end

Mexico vs. Saudi Arabia in day 3 of the FIFA World Cup, the chances were small but the optimism was great, the combinations suggested that El Tri should beat the Arabs and do it by as many goals as possible.

Argentina vs. Poland was being played at the same time, that game would change the possible results that would qualify the Mexican national team. El Tata took the field with a 4-3-3 formation, with Ochoa; Gallardo, Moreno, Montes, Sanchez; Chavez, Edson Alvarez, Pineda; Vega, Lozano and Martin.

Kevin Álvarez could have started in place of Jorge Sánchez, since the Pachuca player has more goals and El Tri needed goals, also Vega could have played in the center, Lozano on the left and Antuna on the right, leaving Orbelín on the bench, however, Pineda had a good game and provided a lot of substance to the attack.

The match

There was really only one team at Lusail stadium and the scoreboard does not reflect what the Arabs and Mexicans showed on the field, Saudi Arabia qualified with a victory and never appeared in the match. Mexico got tired of missing, from minute 1 Chávez, the man of the match, made his presence felt with a deflected shot, the first clear option was for Vega at the third minute , who could not lift his shot over the goalkeeper that came out on time.

Orbelín had three opportunities, a shot at the 24th minute that the goalkeeper kept out without any problems, at the 26th, a cross that he headed and was rejected by the defense and at the 40th minute, a shot that was deflected by two Arab defenders.
At the 35th minut, on a corner kick, Gallardo hit a ball in the penalty area, but he took it with his less skilled leg and the shot went wide off the goal.

While Mexico continued to reach the box without success, Arabia only had a free kick that barely went over the crossbar, and in added time the most dangerous chance with a deflected header from Ochoa’s goal. At stadium 974, Argentina and Poland went to halftime 0-0, a result not very favorable for El Tri, which included a missed penalty by Lionel Messi.

As the half progressed, Mexico became desperate and the midfielders began to group together too closely and sent balls behind the backs of the defenders, instead of opening up the field and trying individual plays and one on one duels.

The second half was totally different in terms of scoring, Antuna came on for Alexis Vega, who was not in his best day, Chucky Lozano moved to the left flank and that was when El Tri began to gain offensive strength.

Chávez began to try with shots outside the area, while Argentina made it 1-0 at the 46th minute. Henry Martín made his presence felt in the scoreboard (1-0) when he pushed in front of the goal a ball that had been extended with his head after a corner kick.

At the 52nd minute, Chavez scored the 2-0 with an impressive long distance free kick that amazed spectators. Argentina made it 2-0 and Mexico and Poland were tied in all the statistics, the tie-breaker was for fair play and less yellow cards obtained. Thus, El Tri was waiting for one more goal from the Albiceleste or our national team to qualify to the round of 16.

However, Mexico began to get tired, some players were exhausted by the 60th minute, Henry Martín was spent and had a ball inside the area at 70′ that he did not finish correctly and Tata was slow to make adjustments on the field.

Finally, in the 77th minute, Jiménez and Charly Rodríguez came on for Martín and Pineda. El Tri had their chance to qualify in the same minute when Chucky served to Antuna, who did not hit the ball correctly and crashed the ball into the Arab defender.

The last 20 minutes for Mexico were quite tense, the scores did not move at either stadium and El Tri continued to arrive with less and less danger. With 4 minutes to go, Funes Mori made his debut in the World Cup and Kevin Álvarez came on, but they had no more chances.

In the added time, Saudi Arabia scored a goal, which did not change the Aztecs’ chances, as the 3-1 score also qualified El Tri, but the match ended 2-1.

Conclusions of Mexico’s participation

In general terms, the national team played a good World Cup, but was left out due to its inoperability in attack since game 1, which was not won, and in game 3, which could have been won by more than 4 goals without major problems. Speaking of the players, they performed well, we believe and want Alexis Vega and Luis Chavez to go to Europe in the next transfer market, Gallardo increased his level, Lozano, our best player, was not allowed to play and was fouled a lot during the cup.

All that remains is to wait 3 and a half years for the next World Cup, which will have 48 teams at home, and to continue watching the outcome of Qatar 2022 with mixed feelings after not having El Tri in the final phase of the tournament, a situation that had not occurred since Argentina 1978.