In their first of 2 Gold Cup warmup games, Mexico dropped a stinker against Switzerland. El Tri lost 4-2 in front of 41k in sunny Utah. I have some thoughts
Things I liked
- Mateo Chavez: Especially early on in the game, he was very active in Mexico’s attack and was the go-to outlet. Mexico’s best moments came from his side of the field. A sharp contrast from his counterpart on the right. I feel like Vasco is going to start Jesus Gallardo anyway but its good to know there are options in case Gallardo is unavailable.
- Santiago Gimenez: He needed a goal in a Mexico jersey badly. I do not care that it came off a lucky bounce off the defenders leg. It was his first goal in 691 days and 5th career goal for Mexico. Overall, another quiet game for the Cruz Azul product but at least he got the monkey off his back.
- The substitutes: In most of these friendlies, the game typically dies off once all the subs start happening. Fortunately, that was not the case Pretty sure the first time subs Alexis Vega and Angel Sepulveda touched the ball, they created Mexico’s 2nd goal. Mexico’s attacked sprung into action and kept the pressure on the Swiss…. until Mexico’s defense collapsed
Things I didn’t like
- Logistics: I understand trying to add more markets to the MexTour pool but the logistics for these two friendlies seem poor. I don’t get why they scheduled the first friendly in Utah (today) then head across the country to play Turkey on Tuesday in North Carolina. With the Gold Cup opener next Saturday in LA, the team has to fly across the country again. If you’re going to drag the team all over the US, at least make it efficient. Also, the field was complete trash today. Glad no one got hurt.
- Way too many individual errors along the backline: Emilio Lara nearly gave up 2 goals himself with boneheaded plays. He also went 90 minutes in a warm up game for a tournament he wont even be in. All while Julian Araujo and Jorge Sanchez were chilling on the bench. Raul Rangel got involved too with mistake after mistake. Cementing his spot has nothing more than the #3 keeper on this roster. Johan Vasquez cant get on the field soon enough.
- Central Midfielders: Erik Lira and Carlos Rodriguez. Not sure what Vasco was hoping they would provide but they provided 0. Mexico’s best run of play occurred when the ball skipped the midfield. Both players are defensive minded and with Edson Alvarez an automatic starter, Vasco should have used a starting spot on a more offensive minded player. Marcel Ruiz is finally called up and this was a great chance to see what he could do in a Mexico jersey. Instead we got a 10 minute cameo from the LigaMX champion.
- This decision did not matter but it was a god awful call.
Not the best start to an important summer for Mexico. They have another test against a Turkey on Tuesday., a team that beat the US 2-1 earlier today. Luckily for Vasco, its the Gold Cup so the opponents are very forgiving. But even so, the World Cup is 12 months away. The clock is ticking…