Mexico entered its Copa América contest against Venezuela in Los Angeles on Wednesday having never lost a match against that opponent in this tournament. El Tri out-shot Venezuela 17 (with six shots on goal) to 10 (with two shots on goal). Yet when the final whistle sounded, the scoreboard read Venezuela 1, Mexico 0, with the only goal coming via Salomon Rondón‘s penalty kick in the 57th minute.
Mexico had plenty of chances to equalize, including a penalty kick of its own in the 87th minute, but Orbelín Pineda‘s weak attempt was saved by Venezuelan keeper Rafael Romo.
It’s the latest embarrassing result in a multi-year stretch full of them for Mexico — including a seven-match windless streak against archrival United States — but is there a silver lining for El Tri heading into a win-or-go-home match against Ecuador on Sunday? Jimmy Conrad argued there was when joining Melissa Ortiz and Chris “The Bear” Fallica on FOX Soccer Now.
“What’s good for Mexico is they know what they need to do [Sunday],” Conrad said. “Goal differential is not on their side. Ecuador has a better goal difference, so a draw favors them. Mexico has to go and win. And I think if you play with that type of purpose and that understanding that this is what has to happen — it’s basically a knockout round game before you get into the knockout rounds.”
Ortiz believes that urgency is something Mexico has mostly lacked in their first two Copa América group stage games.
“You need to be clinical, and that’s something that Mexico just hasn’t done time and time again,” Ortiz said. “And it seems like they’re waiting for the last 15 minutes to start being active being dangerous [and] playing with urgency. They did in [their opening] game against Jamaica that propelled them [to a 1-0 win], but this is what we’re seeing. Why is Mexico waiting until the last 15 to actually activate?”
Fallica believes it’s just further confirmation that this Mexico team lacks the quality that past versions of El Tri did, despite many fans and even bookmakers still rating the team highly. Mexico entered this Copa América at No. 15 in FIFA World Rankings and favored by bookmakers to secure a top-two finish in Group B if not win the group outright. Instead, Venezuela clinched the top spot in the group thanks to Tuesday’s result and Mexico now faces an uphill battle to just advance to the quarterfinals.
“When I was putting together my ‘Bear Bets’ column, I couldn’t believe that Mexico were almost co-favorite with Ecuador to win this group,” Fallica said. “You look at the buildup, you look at the turnover in the roster, and how they were playing leading up to [Copa América] … I took Mexico at +330 to fail to qualify [for the knockout stage].
“I would certainly favor Ecuador in that match [Sunday]. I think it’s gonna be very difficult for Mexico to get through here.”
Conrad also believes Tuesday’s outcome is due to a relative lack of talent on Mexico’s roster compared to El Tri teams of yesteryear.
“This is where I feel worst for the coaches, [especially manager] Jaime Lozano,” Conrad said. “They outshoot Venezuela 18 to 10. They have more possession, they create more corner kicks, they’re playing with more urgency, they’re driving the game, they have their chances — if your players can’t score, well, what what can you do? Obviously, you can try other players. But clearly, he’s seen something in training or something there with their club team where they’re firing in some areas, but I feel bad for Lizano, because I feel like he’s done enough in this one to get a result.”
Venezuela vs. Mexico: Recap following nail-biting finish | 2024 Copa América
Another silver living for Mexico is that El Tri will play its must-win match against Ecuador in a place its fans are used to packing out — State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. That game kicks off Sunday at 8 ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App.
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