The second leg of the Mexico vs New Zealand intercontinental playoff held in Wellington on November 19, 2013 ended in a 4-2 victory for Mexico (9-3 on aggregate). This victory qualifies Mexico to the World Cup, finally giving a (somewhat) happy ending to the disastrous 2013 qualifying campaign.
New Zealand came into the match with an offensive outlook, pushing high up the field, hoping to overcome the 5-1 loss they suffered in Mexico City. This allowed Mexico to exploit the space New Zealand offered in the back.
Oribe Peralta would go on to score in the 13th minute thanks to an assist from Gulit Pena, on the 28th with an assist from Layun, and once again on the 32nd minute with an assist from Gulit Pena again. These goals gave Mexico a 3-0 lead, destroying any faint hopes the “All Whites” might have had.
New Zealand would go on to waste a penalty kick in the 39th minute, which was stopped by Moises Munoz. The first half would end 3-0 in favor of El Tri.
The second half saw Mexico relax and play a possession style game, without looking to attack too much. Late in the match, New Zealand gave the home fans something to celebrate for, as they scored via a penalty kick in the 79th minute, and again in the 84th minute, putting the game at 3-2.
Mexico would hit back one more time, scoring in the 87th minute via Gulit Pena. The final score would end 4-2 in favor of Mexico, and 9-3 victory on aggregate. New Zealand was never an adversary for Mexico, their level of play was simply too low, and El Tri did what it had to, and qualified to the World Cup after a disastrous qualification campaign.
It took four coaches, an intercontinental playoff, a chilenita, a helping hand from the USA, the help of Club America and Miguel Herrera, but Mexico finally got it done. Mexico will play in Brazil next summer.
