The Mexico vs Canada match held in Seattle on July 11, 2013, ended with a final score of 2-0 in favor of El Tri. Mexico won, but it did not impress, very far from it. Mexico managed to score a goal off a corner kick, and on a badly called penalty. Overall, El Tri played a mediocre game that was barely an improvement over its previous match against Panama.
Mexico dominated possession throughout the entire match, although never creating more than 2-3 real scoring opportunities. The first goal was scored by Raul Jimenez in the 41st minute, off a corner kick header. The 1-0 lead allowed Mexico to enter the locker room during the half time with less pressure.
In the second half, Mexico continued to dominate possession, but generated few scoring opportunities. Then, Marco Fabian flopped inside the box in the 55th minute and the ref bought the dive. Fabian would go on to convert the penalty on the 57th minute, giving Mexico the 2-0 lead.
The rest of the Mexico vs Canada match passed without any more scoring opportunities for either side. Mexico gets its first three points of the Gold Cup 2013, and Chepo gets a tiny bit of relief from the immense pressure he was in.
Nonetheless, what we saw from El Tri today should cause concern. Mexico was still static on attack, making it very easy for the Canadian defenders. When Canada was able to attack, they moved up the field with too much ease, creating chances with just 1 or 2 players up front.
In the end, Mexico got the badly needed victory and is just 1 point away from earning a spot in the quarterfinals. They will face Martinique on Sunday, July 14 to finish off group play. Due to the somewhat limited level of the Caribbean squad, it is very likely that Mexico will move on to the quarterfinals (you never know for sure though, Chepo’s Mexico has been quite inconsistent).
For now, the “Chepo Fuera” chants were silence. Just for now…
