Published by GOAL
Published by GOAL
Published by GOAL
Despite all that had gone wrong, Mexico had another chance to steal a result. That’s exactly what they had done in their Copa America opener, stunning Jamaica in a 1-0 win.
And on Wednesday night, trailing Venezuela 1-0 late, Mexico were handed a penalty – and another opportunity to escape with a result they certainly hadn’t earned.
The Soccer Gods were not so generous, this time. El Tri were blessed against Jamaica, but they had no such luck against Venezuela as Orbelin Pineda saw his penalty saved to doom Mexico to a 1-0 defeat.
And they deserved it. This was a rough performance from El Tri. Without midfield superstar Edson Alvarez, this Mexico team is simply missing too much. It took until the game’s final moments for Mexico to show much of anything and, by then, it was too late.
Aside from Pineda’s penalty miss, the game’s big moment came in the 57th minute, when Venezuela scored a penalty of their own. A bad foul from Julian Quinones handed Salomon Rondon an opportunity from the spot, and the legendary Venezuelan striker made no mistake with his own penalty kick.
Now, Mexico will have it all to play for in their third match. Up next Ecuador and – due to goal difference – a draw won’t be good enough. El Tri are in very real danger, and Wednesday’s defeat proved that their flaws may be too big to overcome.
GOAL rates Mexico’s players from SoFi Stadium.
Goalkeeper & Defense
Julio Gonzalez (6/10):
Had one big save and you can’t really blame him for conceding on a penalty kick. Not much more you can ask of him.
Gerardo Arteaga (5/10):
Was the hero for Mexico’s opening win, but did very little in this one. Also, where was he when Quinones conceded the penalty?
Johan Vazquez (8/10):
Extremely solid at the back. Was fantastic on the ball and had plenty of good moments to stop Venezuela. Almost certainly Mexico’s best player on the field.
Cesar Montes (6/10):
Didn’t come back out for the second half after apparently sustaining an injury. Given the absence of Edson Alvarez, El Tri really can’t afford this.
Jorge Sanchez (7/10):
Played a really good game on the right side. Got on the ball plenty and did some good work defensively to keep Venezuela at bay.
Midfield
Luis Romo (7/10):
Battled extremely hard in midfield. Got on the ball more than his midfield partner and did a lot of dirty work defensively, helping to fill the gap left by Alvarez’s injury as best as he could.
Luis Chavez (7/10):
Like Romo, it seemed Chavez knew how tough this midfield battle would be. Didn’t demand the ball as much as Romo did, but he won his battles in the center of the field.
Carlos Rodriguez (5/10):
Didn’t do much during his time on the field. Passing was poor throughout, which led to him being yanked early in the second half.
Attack
Julian Quinones (4/10):
Not a defender, and oof, you could tell on the penalty sequence. In addition to his blunder in his own box, he did little to threaten the opponents. A bad game, overall.
Santi Gimenez (5/10):
A nightmare game for Mexico’s young star. Missed chance after chance in the first half, and El Tri certainly ended up regretting it.
Uriel Antuna (5/10):
Never got close to getting anything going. He was given 73 minutes to generate something, but was never particularly dangerous.
Subs & Manager
Israel Reyes (6/10):
Thrown into a tough spot coming on at halftime, but he was solid enough.
Alexis Vega (5/10):
Was brought into the match to add life to an attack that really needed it. Didn’t really do anything, though.
Guillermo Martinez (5/10):
Came on to play 30 minutes and had less than 10 touches. That isn’t good enough.
Cesar Huerta (6/10):
Definitely provided a spark, creating a few decent looks from inside the box.
Orbelin Pineda (4/10):
Had the chance to be a hero, but had his penalty attempt saved. It wasn’t a particularly good penalty, either, and it doomed Mexico to defeat.
Jaime Lozano (6/10):
Unfortunately for Lozano, this is just this team’s level. Right now, Mexico are lacking difference-makers and, when there aren’t a few of those in your team, tournaments like this will be very hard. Mexico can still advance, but it’s pretty clear this team doesn’t have the talent needed to survive.