Mexico’s Struggles on the Pitch: A Friendly That Turned Sour
So, let’s set the scene here. Mexico was supposed to stage a heroic return with a friendly match against a bunch of Valencia substitutes who likely just woke up from their Saturday night celebrations. It’s a match that should have been the perfect opportunity to charm the socks off their fans—instead, it felt like watching a soap opera where the plot twist is, well, there was no plot twist! Just disappointment all around.
Despite starting strong with a scintillating free-kick goal by Alexis Vega and an extended lead courtesy of Ozziel Herrera, Mexico managed to snatch a draw, ending the match 2-2. This is like ordering the most expensive meal on the menu and getting cold fries instead—absolutely dreadful!
Vega, bless him, spoke after the game saying, “We have to keep working,” which is football speak for “We’ve got absolutely no idea how this happened.” Fans left feeling more like gods in the Colosseum than supporters of a national team fighting for pride. The boos from the 40,000 strong crowd had a sharper bite than expected, and when Vega admitted that the fans “didn’t like them,” well, that’s putting it mildly!
But come on, folks, could we really have expected anything different? You’ve got Valencia, who are desperately fighting for their lives at the bottom of La Liga—this is basically like playing against a youth team who haven’t yet discovered what a gym is! And yet, here we are, gripping our seats as Mexico crumbles under the “glorious” pressure of a balanced scoreline.
Let’s not forget that this is only Javier Aguirre’s third game back as coach. He’s here to perform miracles, not to ask for sympathy! The coach stated that they see potential despite the underwhelming result. Bless his heart; I say let’s send him an “I’m Sorry” card; he’s going to need it! After all, how do you convince fans after a match like this? “Hey guys, we really didn’t play a bad game!” has to be one of the sport’s biggest understatements since the teller at the bank said, “Your balance is not as high as you thought.”
The upcoming clash against the USA is looming like a dark cloud over the horizon, and with it comes the chance for redemption—or for further plummeting into the abyss of mediocrity. Defender Jorge Sánchez is right; “now we have to get our act together, get up and do things well.” But after this friendly, the only things we seem to be getting backwards is our expectations!
So, as Mexico gears up to co-host the 2026 World Cup while grappling with fan discontent and coaching challenges, one has to wonder: Can they pull themselves together in time to make it from “Eh, it’s okay” to “Wow, we’re good”? It’s a tall order, my friends, but if life in football has taught us anything, it’s that miracles do happen—just not usually when you’re playing with the B-squad.
In the end, Mexico is going to have to pull some rabbits out of hats, or they’ll be left with nothing but a handful of boos echoing through the stadium. Here’s hoping that their next match ends with cheers instead of jeers. Who knows, perhaps miracles really do happen at home!
MEXICO CITY —
Playing at home against a team of Valencia substitutes was an ideal match for Mexico to take a step towards reconciliation with its public. It wasn’t like that.
In coach Javier Aguirre’s third game at the helm of the team, Mexico drew 2-2 against the Spanish club on Saturday.
The friendly match towards the 2026 World Cup of which Mexico will co-host only increased fans’ discontent with their squad.
Alexis Vega scored the first goal of the match in the seventh minute with a free kick and Ozziel Herrera extended the lead with a shot from outside the area in the 32nd minute, but Dani Gómez scored in the 41st minute with a long-distance shot and tied the 61.
“We have to keep working, we know that even though they didn’t have their great players, they came to compete,” said Vega. “We don’t leave happy, but we don’t leave badly, we didn’t play a bad game.”
In the central city of Puebla, a majority of the just over 40,000 fans who attended the match booed the team at the end.
“We don’t like them,” Vega said, referring to the boos and whistles. “We have to convince people.”
Although it was only the third match for the Mexicans since “Vasco” Aguirre returned to the bench, El Tri came into the match as a big favorite given that Valencia, second to last in the Spanish League, only arrived on Aztec soil on Friday and mainly resorted to substitutes.
“It’s complicated, but looking beyond the boos, they are going to come to the death to support us and we hope that the results are the best,” said the naturalized Argentine native Germán Berterame, who made his debut with the team.
This is Mexico’s second draw under the guidance of Aguirre. Last month, they beat New Zealand and tied with Canada.
Mexico hosts the United States on Tuesday at the Akron stadium in the western city of Guadalajara.
“It’s a preparation match, it’s not the result we wanted, but we have to rescue the positive things, now we have to get our act together, get up and do things well,” said defender Jorge Sänchez. “The United States is a team that has grown a lot, it has competitive players, but we are a great team.”
Aguirre arrived on the bench in August, replacing Jaime Lozano a few weeks after Mexico was eliminated in the first round of the Copa América.
The “Vasco” announced the day before that he would send a team to the field with new features because he wanted to observe the majority of the 27 players he named for the two FIFA matches on this date.
Mexico took the lead when Vega took a foul on the outskirts of the area and scored with a free kick that entered the right post. Herrera then made a shot from 20 meters that entered the left post to make it 2-0.
It seemed that the return of the senior team to Puebla, where it had not played since 2007, would be a success, but Gómez went close with a shot from outside the area.
In the second half, the 26-year-old forward turned around inside the area to declare equality.