El Salvador had very little life left in their qualification hopes, and a win would have still made it possible. You could see that they weren’t holding back and they actually made an effort to attack which caused a bit of trouble for our defense. If they had been in the position Honduras had been in when they visited (with good hopes of qualifying) you would have probably seen different tactics. Regardless, we still destroyed them and they’ll be watching us from their TV’s.

Lineup: Ochoa; E. Juarez, Marquez, Osorio, Salcido; Torrado, I. Castro, Guardado (Barrera 89′), Vela; Blanco (Palencia 77′), G. Franco (Sabah 86′)

What I liked most about this victory is that all the goals scored (minus the own goal) were from a mix of experience and youth. Blanco and Palencia, the true veterans and two men that helped Mexico qualify back in 2001, made the score sheet. Carlos Vela, despite having a shabby first touch and a killer bicycle kick in the first half, scored the last one. There was no amateur on the team last night, and also including Guille Franco into the mix, there is plenty of maturity from each and every one of our attackers. Just wait for when Giovani is back. I’m already excited.

Marquez finally made his return to the team as captain once again, but he was really rusty with his traditional long passes and his shots. The entire defense had some difficulties but they were still able to hold their own against the Salvadorian attack. Especially Osorio, despite not even making the bench at Stuttgart, partnered Rafa well. It was nice to see Salcido do great once again with el Tri, and his form looked pretty good on the left of the defense. Our team’s defensive situation, thankfully, is pretty good.

Cuauh, once again, played a match to remember and regardless of age, he has the balls to push our team into the next level. It was his brilliance that gave us our first two goals. The first one was thanks to him pushing through the defense after the awesome one-two’s from the team, and the second was him finishing from Guille Franco’s cross. It would be a travesty not to see him travel to South Africa next summer. He has done way too much to be left out of the team.

From this point on, we can only hope that our players gain good form from now up until next June. Carlos Vela and Giovani (who is currently injured) will be devastating if they have good seasons with their clubs. Say what you want about them having a few years left in order to reach their potential, but you have seen how they are still capable of strengthening our team. The entire team, especially those in Europe, simply needs to work hard and get playing time so they can rightfully earn their place into the World Cup squad. Aguirre is going to have a headache trying to pick his squad.

I will write much more about all of this in the months leading to the World Cup. But just enjoy the moment. Remember all the joy and excitement that we all had back in 2006. It’s coming back, and if you followed the entire qualification campaign you will enjoy all of this much more than the casual fans who just show up when it’s World Cup time.

Al mundial si vamos, y a El Salvador tambien le ganamos!

Honduras was supposed to, I quote, cause trouble because they were going to play an offensive-minded game and that their forwards are “too big and fast for our defenders” as I’ve heard many Hondurans say, and proved true the last time they demolished us. They were definitely much superior in aerial play, and did cause some problems especially towards the end, but they were by far the inferior team. It was our game, the strength and the drive came from us. They defended for their life, but thanks to a penalty Mexico was able to get on the score sheet. Winning games with a goal from a penalty isn’t usually pretty, but it got the job done, so who cares!?

Honduras down, El Salvador and T&T to go.

Lineup: Ochoa; Gringo Castro (Barrera 63′), Osorio, Magallon, Salcido; I. Castro, E. Juarez, Guardado, Dos Santos (O. Rojas 71′); Blanco, Sabah (Cacho 71′)

Mexico had a decent first half, minus the part where they were supposed to score goals. After having trouble breaking through the Honduran defense, the team tried the obvious: to attempt scoring from outside the box. Shot after shot was missed (Efrain Juarez was closest) but Mexico didn’t give up. There were too many good chances that were missed by Miguel Sabah, who was taking over for Guille Franco in the starting eleven. Maybe Sabah is better suited to be a super sub, I don’t know, but he missed some critical chances. Especially the last header from Salcido’s cross, which was PERFECT for scoring but was missed.

Honduras focused on defense and the counter attacks. Their only moments of danger were from the latter, as they had better luck moving the ball up the field after our set pieces than any other moment in the game. Overall, they weren’t too lucky and didn’t have much possession of the ball at all. They didn’t play as dirty as Costa Rica though, which is good. Not as many fouls the entire game for both teams either.

Despite Mexico trying hard and winning the ball on many occasions, the only goal of the game came from a foul on Giovani in the second half that led to a penalty (and a clear penalty to boot), later scored by el Cuauh. Right after this goal, a fire lit under both team’s asses and Mexico tried for a second, but Honduras took the honors as the more dominant team of the last ten minutes. “Rambo” De Leon tested Ochoa with a powerful shot on goal and Costly missed an important header from a corner kick at the end. The game would have easily ended at 1-1, that’s how good of a chance he had. Honduras tried hard, and were well organized throughout the entire game, but oh well, still the losers. I’m hoping that they give the USMNT an ass beating during the next matchday though. Have fun in the repechaje against Argentina.

Overall, I’m happy with the individualistic aspect of the team. The whole defense did a solid job, even Osorio who is traditionally a right back but did solid in the center. Salcido played a solid game which is the polar opposite of how he has been doing at PSV, and he has become vital at the left back position. Aside from Isreal Castro and Juarez, the midfield had a simply okay game. Not too much danger from the out-of-position Guardado either. The attack, well, you know about all those misses. Cuauh was the saving grace by playing with heart and being the most dangerous player on the pitch. Also, no worthless Nery Casillo substitution needed eithre!

We deserved to win, we were the more valiant team of the two, and played hard to earn the measly victory. What’s more important is that Mexico is red hot and is 90% there towards automatic qualification to the World Cup. Who’s next, El Salvador? Pshh c’mon. They’re good, but aren’t going to beat us at home, and have little chance in hell to qualify for even 4th place next round. No problem. At this point, the qualification just feels slow because I want it to happen now.

The standings:

I’m actually finding more joy in watching this Mexico team play again! Too bad that the qualification doesn’t continue for another month. Back to club football, everybody…

On paper, this was the hardest match that we would play in the entire hexagonal, even more difficult than the match against the United States. Costa Rica was in first place, demolished every team that travelled to the Saprissa (including the USA), and was at the top of the group despite being fresh off of a 4-0 loss at Honduras. They were the team to fear, and considering that we had not even won a match away throughout the entire qualification (except against Belize), the only thing to give us hope was the previous two victories against the United States.

It was a match to prove that the team really did mature since Aguirre took over. They proved us right, and in such a convincing manner that there’s even more joy since the victory on August 12. Mexico is on their way to becoming a steamroller in the CONCACAF, and achieving the qualification that took three years of changing coaches and lots of criticizing in order to get to this point.

–

Lineup: Ochoa; Gringo Castro, Magallon, Osorio, Salcido; E. Juarez, Torrado, Israel Castro; Blanco (Sabah 74′), Guille Franco (Guardado 69′), Giovani (Nery Castillo 80′)

Giovani Dos Santos 45′
Guillermo Franco 61′
Andres Guardado 70′

The game wasn’t exactly the cleanest, despite both teams posing in the beginning of the match behind a sign that said “I Play Clean”. The first half could be summarized like this: good chances for Mexico, and lots and lots of fouls. There was good movement of the ball and some decent chances from Guille Franco and Blanco, and good footwork by Efrain Juarez. Costa Rica had some chances of their own, but their only true danger was from the corner kicks.

From the 45th minute on, the game can be summarized like this: Giovani Dos Santos. At the end of the first half, Gio received a ball and from outside of the box, he smashed the ball into the bottom right corner to give us the 0-1 lead. We entered the half time break with confidence and the only thing Mexico needed to do was to keep their cool.

Well, Aguirre succeeded in doing that with his pep talk. Costa Rica started strong in the second half, but the possession was still ours mostly. From two counter attacks, we scored our other two very similar goals. The first goal was thanks to Efrain Juarez’s great pass to Gio, who then passed it to Guille Franco. The second was Guardado to Gio, then Gio back to Guardado. Costa Rica was helpless at this point, and we were so on top of things and dominant that Aguirre put Nery Castillo onto the pitch for the hell of it. That says a lot.

Despite Costa Rica being considered one of the most dangerous teams in CONCACAF, not once during the entire match did they truly have any dangerous plays. In fact, they let us walk all over them by giving us space and providing shabby defense on our counter attacks. They are still a fantastic team, but the night was truly ours.

Also, Torrado and Blanco will be suspended for Wednesday’s match because of yellow card accumulation. Blanco was also wrongly carded by the ref, who gave the card to him instead of Guille Franco after a foul. He was even about seven feet from the foul and didn’t see it! Idiot.

Our remaining matches: home to Honduras and El Salvador, then away to Trinidad and Tobago. Remember this: we have only lost once at the Estadio Azteca in official matches, so assuming we can keep this statistic strong, we can win the next two home matches and qualify for the World Cup. Funny how winning this match completely flipped our doubts and disappointments upside down.

Honduras, you are next.

Gallery:

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Yeah, well those arefactors but the US team wasn’t the only one that had to deal with those. How many players play in that altitude(yeah, we have European based players too you know. I know crazy, huh…)? How many players were getting fouled. The players didn’t have a heat resistant veil around them either. And well there’s a thing called pressure.

Oh, and the weather? The weather was in the nice range of the 80’s(F). There were clearly, clear skies.

Well, you had your “A” team. This game “mattered.” It was worth something(3 points). The best team in US history. The one that beat Spain in the Confederations Cup…I’m waiting for the next game. And the excuses that will pop up for that.

As for the referee. Oh shut it. He had a good game. Yeah, there were some things, but it even out for both teams. Bocanegra deserved to be sent off for a second yellow, and there’s no arguments that Nery Castillo should have been punished as well.

The truth is that Mexico were the better team today. Period. The US did have chunks of time where they dominated, and looked quite dangerous. Dangerous enough to win the game. But face it. Mexico WERE the better team. There’ll be excuses thrown all around(I’ve already seen tons of them, and the game just ended) but Mexico deserved to win.

Just admit it. You aren’t as good as you thought you were(one win against Spain doesn’t make you a superpower).

In the opening stages of the game both teams were holding on pretty tight. They were anticipating every move, and weren’t giving away too much. Both Mexico and the US attacked.

Mexico’s first warning shot came in the 2nd minute with Andres Guardado taking a shot from outside the area, but Timmy Howard easily took care of that.

The US decided to respond right away with Charlie Davies making his way into the Mexican area, only to be stopped by Carlos Salcido.

Too early in the game, the US went up. In the 9th minute Landon Donovan(or Jotovan) picked up a ball and sent it to Davies. Davies then went past all the Mexican defenders who were left back sleeping, and easily sent it past Guillermo Ochoa to give the US the 1-0 lead.

After the US goal it was plainly clear that the US withdrew back, happy with the minimal lead, and waited for a counterattack opportunity.

Their waiting just caused harm as in the 19th minute Israel Castro took a powerful right footed shot from right outside the area that hit under the cross bar past Timmy Howard. Castro had received the ball from Blanco, and took the initiative to shoot for the equalizer at 1-1.

Mexico looked to go up once more in the 24th minute when Franco sent a ball to Gio who’s shot went rolling across the goal. Ultimately, it was called offsides.

In the 29th minute Mexico came close with a free kick, but Howard punched it away off the line.

Coming back for the second half, Mexico had a shot in the 53rd minute. Guillermo Franco laid a ball for Blanco, but the Chicago Fire player was unable to do anything and Michael Bradley cleared.

In the 58th, Gio received the ball unmarked, but was unable to make anything of his poor shot.

Then in the 65th minute Guardado had a good play in the US area. He made a pass to himself right in front of goal, but Cherundolo was able to clear it.

In the 75th minute Guillermo Franco had a good opportunity during a corner kick. Franco received the ball, but was unable to control it, and Howard was able to control the ball and the bottom of the post.

Finally, in the 81st minute Efrain Juarez took off with the ball leaving behind the US team, but mostly Landon Donovan who had traced him down. Donovan took him down right at the end, but Juarez was able to pass the ball back, which bounced to Sabah who shot past Howard’s outstretched hand to give Mexico the 2-1 score.

I liked this game. Mexico deserved to win this game. They played well, as did the US. You could see a different attitude from the players as they started. The only problem that I really have is that fans are going to celebrate this game like Mexico just won the World Cup. Sometimes, it’s not just the media that’s at fault for problems that occur. Yeah, they won, but the major celebrations aren’t really needed. And that they completely disrespected the US anthem. That’s just a No-No. I don’t care if it’s a game between Palestine and Israel. That’s just not done. Anywhere.

The defense was a bit shaky, but overall did a decent job. They were caught by the speed, but that isn’t really that surprising, is it. Rafael Marquez will be nice sight when he comes back for a game. Thankfully, he wasn’t on the field, because with the fracas going on he surely would have warranted a card.

Midfield played well. They provided good coverage, and creativity when called upon.

And up top. Again! Finishing was a problem at times, and that seriously needs to be worked on.

Nery Castillo. You got to keep that temper in check. I don’t think he contributed much to the game besides trying to start fights. Not that a good fight isn’t enjoyed, but in a game this close he should have kept himself more in check.

And US supporters smack talking Giovani. Be jealous. That hatred is just jealousy because as “dirty” as he played today(?), you should recheck some of the US players…Ahem.

A good try goes out to the US team. The “Gooch” was one of the best players on the field(and seriously Nery, don’t pick fights with this guy. He could probably get rid of that unibrow of yours with a swift punch. Show him you’re better, but with what you can do with the ball.) Davies was seriously worrying. And of course, Timmy Howard did well in goal(although not as well as I expected him too).

Mexico is in 3rd place right now, but Honduras has yet to play against Costa Rica.

Next game is on September 5th against Costa Rica.

The US looked dangerous in the first half, but in the end it ended 0-0.

Coming back for the second half things changed.

In the 56th minute a penalty was given to Mexico after Giovani Dos Santos went down in the box. Heaps and Dos Santos had a tousle in the box, and the referee Campbell gave Mexico a penalty. Captain Torrado stepped up to the spot and scored to make 1-0 to Mexico.

It didn’t take too long before Mexico brought on the goal fest.

Vela made a run into the area in the 62nd minute and gave it to Sabah, who’s shot was saved by Perkins. Dos Santos took the rebound to give Mexico a 2-0 advantage.

Two goals wasn’t enough and a third goal was added in the 67th minute by Carlos Vela. Dos Santos found Vela who calmly chipped it over Perkins. The ball rolled slowly into the goals, unable to be stopped by any of the US defenders to make it 3-0.

It wasn’t enough, and in the 79th another goal was added. Carlos Vela slipped in a perfect pass to “Gringo” Castro who added the fourth past Perkins. 4-0

The final dagger in the US’ heart was in the 90th minute with a goal by Guille Franco. Fausto Pinto fed the ball to Franco outside the area, and the naturalized Argentine took a powerful shot to make it 5-0 in the night.

And with that Mexico won 5-0 against the US to become the 2009 Gold Cup Champions.

Giovani Dos Santos also won the award for Player of the Tournament.

And Miguel Sabah went home with Top Goalscorer.

Up next…the showdown on August 12th at the Azteca.

Mexico
1 G. Ochoa (GK)
2 J. Magallón
5 F. Pinto
21 J. Valenzuela
22 E. Juárez
6 G. Torrado
8 I. Castro
7 A. Medina
13 P. Barrera
14 M. Sabah
17 G. Dos Santos

Subs

Castro
Franco
Vela

Costa Rica

1 K. Navas (GK)
3 F. Fernández
20 D. Marshall
2 D. Delgado
15 H. Wallace
5 C. Borges
6 C. Oviedo
14 A. Alonso
11 A. Herrón
9 A. Saborío
7 P. Brenes

Costa Rica wasted no time in attacking the Mexican goal. Herron came in close to almost score, but Efrain Juarez slid across goal just in time to keep out the ball during the opening minute.

In the 11th minute, it was Costa Rica once more who were on the attack. Alonso took a shot, and it hit just under the cross bar to keep the score level.

Mexico finally had an opportunity just before the half hour break. Medina flew down the right flank and sent in a shot to Miguel Sabah who was blocked by Costa Rican goalkeeper Keilor Navas blocking the way.

Then in the 40th minute Costa Rica once more had a chance. Alonso decided to surprise once more and took a shot from far out, but Ochoa was able to make the save.

Mexico was the one that had the last opportunity in the first half. In the 45th minute Barrera sent in a cross from the left towards Giovani. Dos Santos made contact with the ball, but didn’t give it any direction, and it went wide of the goal to keep the score at 0-0 during the first half.

Coming back, Mexico was given a penalty in the 56th minute for a hand ball by Costa Rican Brenes. With many of the Mexican players staying away from the ball it was finally Sabah that stepped up to take it. Sabah shot the ball to the right, but it was too soft, and easily saved by Navas to keep it as 0-0.

Near the end of the game in the 88th minute, Mexico put themselves up. Medina’s free kick was headed out, but Franco arrived and kicked it strongly back in and put Mexico up 1-0.

The excitement wouldn’t last as Costa Rica equalized with 10 secs left in added time in the 92nd. Magallon failed to take control of a ball and it went through to Ledezma who escaped from Castro and Valenzuela.

In the 91st min(extra time) Vela had a chance, but his shot was saved by Navas’ hand.

Then in the 97th min, Mexico once more had a chance. Vela received a cross from Giovani, but failed to put it in as it came down on his left foot.

In the 107th minute Herrera unleashed a strong shot, but Ochoa barely stretched to prevent it from going in.

Franco had an opportunity in the 112th minute but he headed it over the bar, from a free kick from Medina.

In the 117th minute Costa Rica came close when Valenzuela mishandled a ball, but Castro was able to get it out. It was then a corner kick where Oviedo shot, but ultimately Ochoa was able to control.

PENALTIES

Mexico(Franco)- Scores! Top of the net, coolly stets u

Costa Rica(Saborio)- Scores. Ochoa goes the wrong way and Costa Rica levels

Mexico(Giovani)- Scores! Just next to right post

Costa Rica(Borges)- Scores. Ochoa dives, and goes the wrong way

Mexico(Torrado)- Scores! Near center, goes right in.

Costa Rica(Ledezma)- Ochoa stops! Goes to the left and keeps the ball out to keep Mexico up.

Mexico(Juarez)- Scores! Sends Navas the wrong way on a soft penalty.

Costa Rica(Oviedo)- Scores. Just under the cross bar, and hits just past the line.

Mexico(Vela)- Scores! Sends to bottom left and sends Mexico through to the finals against the US.

And if you want to torture yourself again…it’s not the best quality, but the best condensed.

Surprisingly, Mexico started out playing decently. Panama got in a few times in the opening minutes, but nothing very dangerous.

In the 10th minute Giovani Dos Santos received the ball from Alberto Medina who had gone up the left field on a counterattack. Dos Santos latched on and came up against Penedo, but sent it to Sabah who scored and made it 1-0 to Mexico.

Then Panama leveled the game in the 29th minute when Blas Perez overpowered Johnny Magallon and Jose Antonio Castro to shoot past Ochoa and make it 1-1.

Both teams ended the game with 10 men after Luis Miguel Noriega and Armando Gun were sent off after some pushing and shoving.

Nothing too spectacular happened in the second half, as both teams were less active than the first part.

However, in the 79th minute trouble ensued when Javier Aguirre stuck out his foot at Ricardo Phillips as he was chasing a ball near the Mexican technical area. There were some shoves and the Mexican manager and Panamanian player were both sent off. Phillips refused to leave, and stopped the game for a little over 10 minutes.

Mexico will now move on to Glendale, Arizona to play Guadeloupe on Sunday at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Guadeloupe has yet to lose a game and is currently top of group C.

Of course, with Mexico being Mexico, it wasn’t and instead the score ended at 2-1.

The game started off quickly, giving hope to plenty of people. In the first minute Mexico went up 1-0 after Guillermo Franco scored off a pass from Nery Castillo. “Guille” went into the area unmarked, and took advantage as the T&T goalkeeper came out to give Mexico the advantage.

During the next 20 minutes the team missed four clear chances for goals.

Then in the 34th, Nery Castillo was injured. The Shakhtar player felt something in his left leg, and asked to be taken out of the game.

Then, right before the first half ended T&T scored their goal by Tinto. He took advantage of an error by the Mexican defense to score the equalizer.

Coming back for the second half Mexico once more left it early. In the 48th minute Oscar Rojas connected outside the area to put Mexico up 2-0.

In the 84th minute “Venado” Medina had a close chance to put Mexico up 3-1 with a shot from far out.

Mexico did win, but they had plenty of opportunities during which they should have scored. The score could have been different by a wider margin, but again, finishing was the problem.

Now, Mexico sit in 4th in the qualifying rankings.

Aguirre now has won his first game during his second stint as coach of Mexico, and has lost one.

That was El Salvador’s motto going into he game. Whether they will stay at home watching the World Cup from home on their TV’s, they’ve accomplished what they wanted for the night. Now, Mexico’s qualifying route gets tougher, but with the games at the Aztec stadium assured it’s more likely that Mexico will make it. With the showing tonight, no one would really guess that.

Tonight, El Salvador beat Mexico 2-1 in a physical game. We came close to equalizing, but in the end the second goal was taken away. While it may be easier to say that we were screwed out of many things, the truth is that Mexico defeated themselves. The taunts about swine flu didn’t really seem to affect the team as much.

Aguirre’s arrival was received with high hopes, and unrealistic expectations. Now, Mexico has(hopefully) been brought down to Earth and will be realistic in the upcoming games.

The game started out well for Mexico. In the 5th minute Arce and Guardado combined for the first chance of the game. Guardado rose up for the cross from Arce and headed the ball into the ‘keeper
’s hands, but bade well for the start.

Again in the 8th Mexico had a chance. Arce had a good shot, but his chip was wasted as he put too much force into his drive and sent to ball over the cross bar.

Although El Salvador weren’t arriving towards the Mexican area as much, it was they who scored first. In the 12th minute Rodolfo Zelaya weaved in and out between Torrado and Osorio then sent it to Martinez who scored. El Salvador were up 1-0.

During the 25th came close. Nery ‘The Brow’ Castillo and Arce combined and sent in a strong shot. The ‘keeper came out and barely managed to punch the ball and left it in a dangerous area, but no Mexican player was there to take advantage of the mistake.

As the game progressed, the Salvadorians became more comfortable and took more shots from outside the area.

Then the game became more dangerous in the 26th minute when ‘Conejo’ tried to control a cross, but it slipped from his hands. The ball went past his hands and went towards goal. Aaron Galindo rushed to save the ball and prevented El Salvador from going up 2-0.

The physical game escalated to new heights when Guille Franco and a Salvadorian player had a tousle in the area. The opposition player threw his hand across Franco’s face and Franco retaliated by throwing a side punch and drawing blood.

In the second half El Salvador came close. Zelaya came close in the 50th by weaving through the Mexican defense.

Then again in the 52nd injured Pacheco took a free kick, but ‘Conejo’ managed to save.

Finally in the 70th minute Mexico equalized. Guillermo Franco had gone into the area, but was brought down. The referee called a penalty and Blanco stepped up to take it. Blanco easily converted it and put Mexico on level terms at 1-1.

El Salvador came close again in the 75th. Zelaya rose up against the Mexican defense but it went into ‘Conejo’s’ hands.

Mexico came close in the 77th minute when Oscar Rojas let go a powerful shot, but it went wide. Had it gone straight, it would most likely have been a goal.

Then, in the 84th minute El Salvador was given a penalty. As Quintanilla came up the right side he sent in a cross. Rojas was there to block it less than a meter away, but his hand hit the ball and the penalty was given away. El Salvador scored and they were winning 2-1.

Although the game was coming to a close, Mexico kept on fighting. In the 88th minute Franco and Blanco combined. Franco had passed to Blanco who went up one on one against the goalkeeper. Blanco slid and hit the ball, watching it roll towards goal slowly. No defender managed to get back, and the second goal went in, but as soon as the celebrations started it was annulled for being offsides.

Now, the table looks like this.

Overall, the game was disappointing. Mexico had plenty of chances, but again finishing was the problem.

With the game coming up on Wednesday I almost wish that we would lose that too. Mexico’s head gets blown up after a win, and expectations are placed too high. All the losses are forgotten and the presumption of having the right to win every game comes up. With a loss at home, I think that it would more realisticly show Mexico’s problems.

Aguirre won’t be the solution. I don’t know what the solution is. He helped once, but all the factors were different during the time he came in.

Hopefully, maybe, he can work his magic once more.

The next game is on Wednesday June 10th against Trinidad and Tobago. Since it’s at the Azteca, it’s pretty much a given that we’ll win.

Before the match started, I told myself “Mexico better score at least four more goals than the opposition… or else”. Thanks for listening to my inner thoughts, Mexico!

If this game could be an consolation for all of the disappointment and worry that was bestowed upon the Mexican population after the USA match, then what a hell of a consolation prize it was. When was the last time Mexico scored so many goals in a match? And really good goals to boot? It was against Peru last summer, an entertaining 4-0.

Yes, Bolivia were 10 men down and aren’t that strong of a team to begin with (second to last place in the CONMEBOL), but I don’t care. I’ll take the 5-1. As long as the victory was well deserved, which it was.

As I’ve mentioned many times before, these USA friendlies are pretty much worthless. Great job scheduling a national team match on the same day as the Champions League and Copa Libertadores matchdays! As I write this, Chivas are pounding Caracas in Jalisco. But as long as people attend the matches and the FMF makes their money, these matches will keep on happening. Who’s B team are you excited to face next? Equatorial Guinea? Gambia? Woo!

Worthlessness and importance aside, you can’t say no to a 2 hour dosage of El Tri on a boring Wednesday evening. Can’t say no to 5 goals either.

Alineación Inicial:

Ochoa; Oscar Rojas, Leobardo López, Julio César Domínguez, Fausto Pinto; Gerardo Torrado, Leandro Augusto, Fernando Arce, Jagger Martínez; Omar Bravo, Vicente Matias Vuoso

Highlights:

The match was nothing less than really good shooting practice. Vuoso scored a solid goal in the opening moments of the match. Afterwards, it was just runs down the flanks for Mexico and missed shots.

Then, there was a bad tackle on Vuoso, which was a straight red. Who cares about the ref’s decision to give the Bolivian defender the red card. It was a harsh tackle and Vuoso was lucky not to have gotten even more hurt. The commentator should have shut the hell about “refs that have never touched a ball in their life”. Just be quiet and don’t give your opinion, moron. At least it gave us a free kick opportunity, which Leandro scored like a champ. 2-0 thanks to the naturalizados.

The rest of the first half was just missed chances. Arce, then Bravo, then Bravo again. Even if we were 2-0 up, it hurts most when we see missed chances from Mexico. It reminds you of missed chances against more important opponents in the past, such as Honduras and USA. The great flop of the match was Omar Bravo, who was inches away from scoring a few sitters. Apparently Europe didn’t help much, or the lack of activity made him SLOW. The only way they could have made up for the missed chances was to score a bunch more goals. And they did.

The scoring resumed in the second half, with a really nice shot by Vuoso again with his weak foot. It was 3-0 and the game wasn’t turning out to be so bad after all. I was actually glad to have fixed my crappy antenna to be able to flip on Telemundo.

Then, Bolivia scored their goal, and if the Leandro goal was awesome, then this one was absolute genius. I’d almost say that it was Messi-like. The Bolivian striker faked out three defenders and slotted the ball into the bottom right corner. Very good goal, but 3-1 wasn’t good enough. The fourth goal was a penalty scored after a player was brought down in the box. This was probably the funniest foul that I’ve seen in a long time. It looked like a bad sex position. Alright, I’ll grow up now.

My favorite moment was the last but not least important goal of the match. Very good run down the center from Rojas and a well-controlled shot by Cardenas was enough to seal the match. What a better way to debut for the national team for the Pachuca forward, with a great goal to boot.

We won’t be winning awards and praise after matches like these, but is it good to see El Tri dominate a puny friendly match? Hell yeah it is! What I loved most is that it wasn’t a bullshit win like the one against Ecuador for example, it was a good display of teamwork. Maybe those players from this match that get to play against Costa Rica could use the confidence boost, but as a supporter I’m happier than anything to see Mexico dominate a match again.

It’s a foreshadow towards better days. Those days will be here soon, but there’s still lots of work that needs to be done.

Gallery:

Arce: MY FACE!!!