By Javier Perez
Mexico 0-0 Guatemala; what to take away from the match
A Frustrating Draw
One characteristic of the ‘Martino era’ Mexico NT is the underwhelming and frustrating draws. Wednesday night was no exception. Mexico came out with a signature 4-3-3 formation. Acevedo saw his second national team start with Israel Reyes and Jesus Angulo as the center back pairing with Erick Aguirre and Kevin Alvarez providing cover at the fullback positions. The midfield trio consisted of Erick Sanchez, Luis Chavez, and Cordova. The starting trio up front consisted of Santiago Gimenez with Piojo Alvarado and Alejandro Zendejas providing support on the wings.
Mexico controlled possession for the entirety of the match. In fact, the final possession stats saw Mexico hold the ball for 68% of the match. 559 accurate passes (90%) and 19 shots later, El Tri failed to capitalize off of any of their chances. A problem that is consistent throughout all versions of the senior team.
The Golden Boy:
The biggest anticipation for the match was being able to see the Mexican sensation Marcelo Flores in action again. This was his second appearance with the senior team, his first being against Chile in December. Since then, Marcelo has scratched a Premier League debut under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal and has contributed with important goals with the U-23 side. Still at the age of 18, Marcelo’s potential continues to grow as time goes on.
Before the press conference, Marcelo put some pressure on the FMF as he stated that if Mexico and Canada both were to call him up for Qatar, he would choose Mexico without a doubt. However, a bit of tension stirred up as Tata told the press Marcelo should focus on choosing a national team to represent before thinking about a spot with Mexico in Qatar.
Marcelo came in at the 61st minute. Replacing Alvarado, Marcelo was put into the right wing position and provided a refreshing explosiveness to Mexico’s front three. His ability to attack the defense directly is something Mexico seems to lack as of lately.
First Appearances:
4 players saw their senior debut with the Mexican National team. Arturo “Palermo” Ortiz missed his CONCACAF Champions League final match with Pumas to see his first debut with El Tri. Replacing Reyes in the backline, Ortiz registered a solid 45 minutes. Pachuca’s Luis Chavez also saw his debut and a start for Mexico in the midfield. Chavez played the full 90’ and was the most effective midfielder in the match, registering 74 complete passes, a high between both teams. A certain eye catcher,
Santos’ Jordan Carrillo saw his debut as he entered in the 72nd minute. His effectiveness going forward made an instant impact as he became the player with the highest key passes registered in the match. Arguably, the most exciting debut was the appearance of Mexican-American dual national, Jonathan Gomez. ‘JoGo’ recently completed a transfer to Real Sociedad B from Louisville and is highly contested between the USMNT and Mexico. Gomez came in at the 82nd minute, the time didn’t allow for more but his time in the pitch was effective, he completed 100% of his crosses and his passes as well.
Takeaway:
This Mexico squad has little to no experience together so a draw should not be a scandalous result. However, Mexico had the opportunity to capitalize off of their chances and their inability to do so is something that can’t be overlooked. However, the call-ups for this camp left nothing to complain about. JoGo and Marcelo are important players to hopefully add to the pool and the inclusion of David Ochoa in the squad list is important to establish continuity in the goalkeeper pool. These matches can also help Martino fill in the final World Cup slots for Qatar. Mexico now has the Nations League group stage and various friendlies to prepare for Qatar.