One of the most beloved and followed teams in World Cups makes its seventeenth appearance at the international joust, El ‘Tri’ has qualified consecutively since 1994, and has made it out of the group stages in their last seven appearances as well, only Brazil and Mexico have achieved this impressive stat. The catch; Mexico’s best all-time progression in a World Cup has been quarter finals (1970 and 1986, both played in Mexico), which has turned into a ‘curse’ that has loomed over ‘El Tri’ in World Cups ever since.
Time To Tough It Out
Mexico’s luck did not play its part on the group draw, as they will face-off against very complex opponents. ‘El Tri’ will make its debut on Tuesday, November 22nd against Poland. This is going to be a make or break fixture for the CONCACAF squad, since a loss against the European side would force them to at least scrap a tie against power-house Argentina on match-day 2. Mexico usually plays well when they find themselves as underdogs in World Cups, so if they get a favourable result in match-day 1, maybe they’ll just make do against Saudi Arabia in their last fixture of the group stages. Overall, this will be a very challenging task since the Mexican National Team has not played well recently, but that was also the case in their debut on Russia 2018, and they managed to get a historic win against then reigning champions Germany.
Manager Under Fire As Usual
The main problem Mexico’s National Team usually has is applying excessive pressure from media and fans on their managers, and this World Cup has been no different. Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino took over Mexico back in 2019, and even tough he holds a pretty respectable record (40-10-11), the Argentinian has lost the most important games he’s managed since his arrival (2 Confederation Finals against USMNT). Former FC Barcelona, and Argentina’s National Team boss has broken all relationship with the media. The manager claims they don’t let him get any work done, so he is on constant scrutiny and finds himself in a pretty uncomfortable situation, one that is certainly not the best one to be in days before a World Cup debut. This has been translated to the pitch and the fans; who are also regularly putting pressure on the team and the manager expecting top performances every game, something the squad has not been able to do in a long time.
Experience and Youth Blend Together
‘El Tri’ has a very balanced team featuring extensive World Cup experience, and new emerging talent. This team is led on attack by Napoli star Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano who needs to carry a much bigger load than expected, since fellow offensive starters Raul Jimenez (Wolves), and Jesus Corona (Sevilla) both have serious injuries and it’s very unlikely they will make a recovery on time for the trip to Qatar. Lozano will be the leader not just of this attack, but he has to provide a guiding light for the whole squad.
Another fundamental piece for this team is Ajax’s midfielder Edson Alvarez, who has made an incredible leap the last couple years. Alvarez has been lights out for his club, and is the glue in the midfield for his national team. He’ll be another crucial asset, one that may hold the key for a successful World Cup campaign.
Mexico has plenty of experience in its squad; goalkeeper and talisman Guillermo Ochoa (America), winger Andres Guardado (Real Betis), and midfielder Hector Herrera (Houston Dynamo) are all World Cup and National veterans. They may be at the final stages of their careers, but they can provide this team with valuable experience.
The Curse Will Not Be Easy To Break
Mexico will have to go against the odds if they want to achieve something more than last sixteen, and we wouldn’t even look that far. ‘El Tri’ needs to make a nearly perfect group stage to make it out alive, since group C is one of the toughest of the competition. This team is looking to make a historic run, but this could also be an infamous showdown, specially if Martino doesn’t get things going on time. Mexico will be one of the countries with the most supporters at the tournament, which will give them an extra boost, but will that be enough to finally break them free of the ‘curse’?
