Mexico’s eternal captain Rafa Márquez will be restricted from any soccer activity for one month, after suffering an injury during last week’s Serie A game against Atalanta. Although you might be thinking “Meh, I don’t really follow the Serie A,” the injury means he will be joining PSV midfielder Andrés Guardado on the list of Mexican players that will be missing a very important game against the United States in October, one that could give them a spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup.
Márquez’s injury is also worrisome because he is the leader of Mexico’s weaker zone – the defense. Let’s not forget that Trinidad and Tobago scored a total of seven goals in the last two games they had against El Tri.
On October 10, however, Mexico will not be playing Trinidad and Tobago, who also struggle with defense, but the United States, who are very solid in the back, especially on home soil. Just look at the statistics: since 2000, Mexico has played against the United States 17 times on U.S. soil. The team has won two times, lost 11, and tied four. The odds are not looking good for El Tri, especially without Márquez and Guardado.
But the U.S. did lose against Jamaica in the 2015 Gold Cup, so I don’t want to make it sound like this will be a David and Goliath situation.
The Márquez injury – though terrible – means a lot for the team, since El Tri will have to show the character it has been missing lately.