Mexico won a vital World Cup qualifying match against Jamaica.
A fresh new look Mexico’s journey to Qatar 2022 started with a 2-1 victory against Jamaica at the Estadio Azteca.
El Tri grabbed the lead in the 50th minute via Alexis Vega, but Jamaica equalized 15 minutes later through Shamar Nicholson’s goal in the 89th minute.
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“Every [qualifying campaign] is painful,” Mexico coach Gerardo Martino remarked. “Tonight, we took a big step towards regaining our confidence.”
Mexico had the additional disadvantage of not fully using its home-field advantage. Though empty stadiums have become typical during the epidemic, Mexico’s venerable home stadium was devoid of spectators not due to COVID-19, but as a result of an anti-gay cry heard during several matches during the Olympic qualifiers in Guadalajara in April.
With no additional pressure from supporters, the Reggae Boyz entered the field at the Azteca — a venue where they’ve never won in World Cup qualification — with just a dozen of their European-based players owing to a COVID travel restriction. On the other hand, owing to the same situation, Mexico’s players Raul Jimenez, Hirving Lozano, and Johan Vasquez were unable to compete. To deal with the situation, Martino entrusted a youthful core with replacing his lost players. El Tri had a starting lineup that included seven players who had just won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Rogelio Funes Mori, Jimenez’s understudy, almost blew the game open after 25 minutes. After receiving a pitch-perfect cross from Jorge Sanchez on the outside of the six-yard box, Funes Mori was unable to direct a header beyond Andre Blake. It was the lone notable opportunity in a shaky opening 45 minutes.
Despite their triumphs in Tokyo, many of the players who returned home faltered in their most recent assignment.
“There are no easy games in a qualifying campaign,” goalkeeper Memo Ochoa remarked. “I’ve been through a lot of difficult campaigns, and this one isn’t going to be any different. Many of the [Mexican] guys today had their first taste of it, and they quickly understood how much you go through. “
However, one of Mexico’s Olympic heroes answered the call early in the second half, giving El Tri its first lead of the game. Vega took advantage of a deflected shot inside Jamaica’s area,
and the Chivas striker sent a strong right-footed finish past Blake to put Chivas up 1-0.
The goal seemed to dictate the rest of the game’s script: pushed to attack, Jamaica generated counterattacking opportunities for El Tri, who scored two huge chances at will in the minutes that followed. Funes Mori pulled Blake off his line in the 63rd minute on another attack,
before passing to a wide-open Roberto Alvarado. Despite having an empty net in front of him, the Cruz Azul attacker’s strike clanged against the post.
Taking advantage of Mexico’s inability to finish, Jamaica converted their lone major opportunity of the game into an equalizer.
Jorge Sanchez was forced to dive and protect himself with a header after Cory Burke sent a long, looping cross into the area. Because the contact was poor, Nicholson was able to charge in and smash a goal past Ochoa.
Martino bemoaned, “We manage games effectively for extended periods of time and generate goal opportunities,
but we’re not clinical.” “Sometimes disaster strikes, and you end up in circumstances like Jamaica’s goal.”
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When forced to go on the attack again, Martino benched Vega in favor of Henry Martin,
a second attacker and fellow Olympic veteran. Then Martin blasted past a diving Blake with less than two minutes remaining to give Mexico the victory,
and the narrative of 2013 seemed to be repeating itself. Only players representing El Tri at the Olympics created and completed the game-winning play: Cesar Montes fired a forward pass that was clipped by Luis Romo,
in keeping with one of the night’s major themes. Martin, like Vega earlier in the half, was able to rush onto the ball and score virtually from the spot as a result of the change in direction.
Martin stated, “I’m delighted to contribute, to score, and to help the team earn three points.” “I simply thought about kicking it toward the goal when I saw the ball [coming my way].”
Following the victory, Mexico will play two more games on the road to complete its first round of qualifiers. El Tri will have to face both of its final matches without Martino,
who will have surgery to repair a detached retina, adding to their list of absent players. Jamaica, the lone team to lose on the opening day,
will host Panama on Sunday before heading to Costa Rica on Wednesday.
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