WHAT NOW FOR MEXICO’S OLYMPIC SQUAD
Mexico’s Olympic journey hit an unexpected speed bump last game. The shock loss to Japan was a pail of cold water to a squad that seemed destined for the elimination round. Now we are left with the questions, what went wrong, and what now? Here are my answers to these questions.
What Went Wrong
As I noted in my preview, Japan is aggressive, and that aggression stunned El Tri. Japan were relentless in their pursuit of the ball, and Mexico only had a few seconds to decide what to do with the ball before two or three Japanese defenders fell upon them. Mexican players took too long on the ball and made this press easier for their opponents, an adjustment to one or two touches was never made.
Speed kills. Mexico never adapted to the Samurai’s speed, and adjustments were not made to the flatfooted back line. This was evident early in Japan’s first goal, and second, but adjustments were not made, and Kubo and Co. ran wild.
What Now
El Jimmy’s squad will have to reset quickly as their next game will be 7/28. Restructuring the back line is a must as Montes has been shaky at best and Vasquez seeing a red card last match. The duo of Esquivel and Mora may have to step in on short notice but I don’t see Lozano benching Montes for this game, El Cachorro will have to step up to support his coach’s confidence in him.
Lozano will also have to change his tactics as the South African squad is as fast as the Japanese squad if not more. Plus they will be stronger physically than the two teams El Tri have faced so far. Hopefully El Jimmy will have learned his lesson from the last match.
Whats Next
The bright side of this is the Olympic Tri still control their own destiny, so doomsday talk is a bit unwarranted. Mexico needs to beat a winless South African team to advance, and if France beat Japan, they may have a shot at the top spot depending on goal differential.
A draw also advances the Azteca’s, so long a s France does not defeat Japan. A loss to South Africa does not disqualify the Mexican squad, again, as long as France doesn’t beat or draw against Japan, and Mexico keeps a better goal differential than the French side.
So its not all Armageddon for the Olympic squad, with a good game plan and focus El Tri should shake off the shocking loss and regroup in time to advance.
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