No goals, no victory but plenty of good vibes. Mexico’s scoreless draw with Poland left the team wanting more, but also hinted that this El Tri may once again be able to get out of the group stage — something that in no way felt like a guarantee after a rocky qualification campaign and build-up to this tournament.
“I saw a lot of high points,” Mexico manager Tata Martino said in his post-match news conference.
Let’s take a look at those bits of good news for El Tri fans, with a bit of bad mixed in as well:
Wide attackers give Mexico new dimension
Would Mexico be able to lift itself up after a 2022 that has seen it sleepwalk through World Cup qualifiers against lesser opposition and struggle in the pre-tournament friendly matches? The answer was yes, as the attack delivered.
Henry Martín did well getting himself into the right spaces as the central forward, but Mexico found its joy out wide. That’s no shock, with star winger Hirving Lozano and Alexis Vega both the type of players who can take on defenders. They were able to find moments in which they got on the ball and made something happen — Lozano leading the team in chances created, Vega earning four free kicks and both floating from the sideline to more interior positions in an attempt to break Poland’s defense down.
“I think the two wingers today had a really good game, Lozano on the right and Vega on the left,” Martino said.
Now and then, they’d swap those roles, giving Mexico a level of unpredictability it hasn’t had for most of 2022.
“It was a very closed game. We’ve got the feeling we could’ve gotten a little more, but that’s soccer. We’ll get another chance in a few days,” Vega said.
Despite the tightness of the contest, there were also moments in which Lozano and Vega flashed their creativity and put pressure on Poland’s goal, but Mexico was unable to convert despite getting four shots on target and getting another four off target. Seven of those came from inside the area. Five were taken by Vega.
Vega’s day hints at a breakout showing later in the tournament, but even if this was his high point he proved he could fill in well for the injured Jesus “Tecatito” Corona and gives Mexico a bit of attacking depth it hasn’t shown in this cycle.
He became the star off the field, crying during the singing of Mexico’s national anthem as he thought about the journey he’s been on to get to this point.
“I’m very happy. I’ve got a lot of mixed feelings. It’s my first World Cup,” Vega said. “When we started to sing the anthem, I got goosebumps, some tears came out. I’m really happy. It’s a dream come true from when I was a kid and I’ve got to keep working so it can be a lot more.”
If he keeps putting in performances like Tuesday’s, Vega not only will get more opportunities with the national team but soon will be joining Lozano in Europe.
El Tri knows its got cover at the back
Goalkeeper never was going to be a concern for El Tri, even with Martino opting for three seasoned (read, old) goalkeepers rather than finding a spot on his roster for Carlos Acevedo or another potential No. 1 of the future.
Guillermo Ochoa is at the World Cup for the fifth time in his career and played in his fourth tournament, and Mexico knew it would be able to rely on “Memo” to come up big when it needed him. It didn’t know just how badly it would need him until the 58th minute when he read a penalty correctly off the boot of Poland and Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski and made a save that preserved the clean sheet.
“Life has gifted me these moments I can give to my family, my loved ones, Mexican fans,” Ochoa said. “When you start to kick a ball as a kid, you want to play World Cups and make history.
“This is a good step. I want to do it with the group, do something different, and I’d like to keep advancing.”
But Ochoa had some help Tuesday, with Edson Alvarez dominating in the middle of midfield and strong efforts from Jorge Sanchez and Jesus Gallardo at right back and left back after fullback had been a position of weakness in World Cup qualification.
Other than Hector Moreno conceding the penalty, his center backs also kept him from having to see too much of Lewandowski before or after their showdown. Mexico’s back line is hardly perfect, but it did what it needed to do Tuesday, a positive sign before taking on Argentina this weekend.
This thing is wide open
Going into Tuesday, everyone from the most seasoned expert to the novice picking the group stage on whose flag is the prettiest was ready for Argentina to have three points and the winner of this Mexico game against Poland as the team with the inside track to get out of the group.
Instead, Argentina suffered a stunning defeat to Saudi Arabia, losing 2-1 after Lionel Messi had them ahead in the first 10 minutes from the penalty spot.
It muddied what we thought would be a clear panorama after the first day of the group stage, and made sure there will be high-stakes games Saturday — when Mexico could eliminate Argentina with a win — and on the final day of the group.
“This result doesn’t change anything, but what looked like a final in the first game of the group stage ends up being — for everyone, all four teams in the group — three finals for all of us,” Martino said.
It’s a cliche in Latin American soccer that when it gets down to crunch time, every game is a final. But anyone who hoped Mexico would catch a confident Argentina sleeping or even romp against a poor Saudi squad now must respect that everyone is in the hunt to finish in the top two and advance.
Good news for neutrals, bad news for Mexico fans’ fingernails ahead of a very nervous eight days.
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