Mexico 1, Cameroon 0: Dominating the Lions

Peralta scored Mexico’s lone goal against Cameroon. (Credit: Getty)

Mexico opened up their World Cup run in Natal with a 1-0 win against Cameroon thanks to a goal from Oribe Peralta.

Two goals were disallowed for the Mexican side, but a lone goal was enough to take all three points while playing under pouring rain.

Quick El Tri headlines: Holidays

Reyes joining FC Porto seems to be starting a new trend for young Mexicans (AP)

 

• With Herrera and Reyes off to Europe (FC Porto), other youngsters could join them such as; Javier Aquino, Hiram Mier, Jorge Enriquez, Marco Fabian, Hugo Ayala, Jorge Torres Nilo, and Nestor Vidrio.
• The road to the 2013 U-17 World cup will begin on April 6-April 19 for CONCACAF. The U-20’s will be earlier, beginning February 18-March 2, 2013 (Mexico is host).
• Germany is scheduled for two summer exhibitions in the United States. One of the teams confirmed will be the USA, but the other is still in the air. Mexico is rumored to be the second team to face the Germans (similar to the Brazil friendlies in 2012).
• Monterrey fell to Chelsea 1-3 in the FIFA Club World cup, but won third place 2-0 over Al-Ahly (Egypt). Jesus Manuel Corona scored for Monterrey in the third minute. The 19 year-old winger has been catching the eye of many this past season. In the final, Corinthians (Brazil) defeated Chelsea 1-0!
• Finishing off 2012, Mexico dropped one spot to 15 in the FIFA rankings. However, both ESPN and the Elo have Mexico in the top-10.

Vamos Mexico!

Mexicans Abroad 12/15-12/16

Check out the past week’s activity!

Quick El Tri headlines: September 13th, 2012

 

Chicharito is creeping up on Borgetti’s record for EL Tri (AFP)

 

• Hector Herrera and Chaton Enriquez are rumored to have started practicing with their clubs. 
• Fortunately, Giovani Dos Santos will be returning to play soon as well.
• Officially, Mexico will not play in Estadio Azteca, but in Estadio Corona for their October WCQ against El Salvador.
• Unfortunately, for FIFA fans, no Mexican will grace the cover for FIFA 13.
• With his goal against Costa Rica, Chicharito is now at 26 in total for Mexico. He is just 20 goals shy of Jared Borgetti’s record.
• Recent FIFA rankings dropped Mexico to 21. However, Elo raknings bumped Mexico up to #9 in the world (previously 11). Soccer Power Index also ranks Mexico in the Top-10.

Quick El Tri headlines: August 21st, 2012

Herrera could be playing in England very soon (Getty)

 

• Hector Herrera has is close to making a deal with an EPL side.
• Jorge ‘Chaton’ Enriquez will be out 3-6 weeks with a minor knee surgery.
•  As mentioned in Mexicans abroad, Memo Ochoa had a tremendous game keeping PSG off the board, in a 0-0 draw. 
• The Mexican U-17 was victorious in the Toyota tournament in Japan.
• Rumor has it, David Cabrera is recovering very well from his knee injury, which occurred back in the Spring.
• Giovani and Tottenham are close to finally ending their tainted relationship.
• Following the 0-1 loss to the USA, both Pablo Barrera and Elias Hernandez scored for their clubs.

Vamos Mexico!

Mexico 4, Senegal 2: Better late than never

Mexico celebrates a goal against Senegal at the Olympics(PHOTO CREDIT MEXSPORT)

Mexico defeated Senegal 4-2 in extra time at Wembley during the quarter finals of the Men’s Olympic Tournament on Saturday.

The win propels them to the semifinals of the tournament where they will face Japan.

Positives and negatives heading into the Olympics

Peralta has yet to add a goal with the Olympic squad (Eurosport).

 

Mexico has just finished up their warm-ups for the Olympics. The results were; 1-1 tie with Club Leon, 1-0 victory over Great Britain, 0-1 loss to Spain, and a 1-2 loss to Japan. The friendlies have shed some light at what to expect for Thursday, as Mexico begins its road to Olympics against South Korea.

Negatives

1) Defense showing holes:

After the 1-0 victory over Great Britain, Mexico was outscored 1-3. The defense could have coughed up more against Spain, as they let through 2 major break aways. Luckily for Mexico, there were stopped by Corona. Against Japan, Mexico was disorganized and let the Japanese through for an easy tap-in for the 1-0 lead. The defense will need to find away to build some consistency, because their competition is going to be a lot stronger with the stakes raised.

2) Missing names are indeed…missed:

Going to keep this one short and sweet. Some of the names that were hopefuls for the Olympic roster, are now ones that Mexico really needed. Pulido, Jonathan Dos Santos, and Vela would have been a huge boost to this squad.

3) Experienced players not adding any experience:

With exception of Corona, Salcido and Peralta has been bigger problems than solutions. The purpose of the 3 overage players was to add major help for the younger standouts, but Salcido has not found a rhythm, and Peralta is a complete no-show. Of course I loved being proved wrong, as it could be the opposite come Thursday. Both could come out swinging…yet from the friendlies, they have worried me more than add optimism.

Positives

1) Certain players are showing great consistency:

Although the overage players have not dazzled the El Tri fans, some of the youngsters have. The likes of Fabian, Herrera, Aquino have been a great sight. We all knew that Fabian has been consistent, but he has been responsible for 2 of 3 Mexico’s goals in warm-ups. Herrera has been an engine, never giving up on plays, as well as Aquino. I feel these three will be our best come Thursday.

2) Mexico is still the favorite of the group:

Although they lost two friendlies, we must remember…they were friendlies. Mexico is still a force in their group, and doing well could catapult momentum for the knockout rounds. Many players can turn on their performance knowing whats on the line, and I’ am optimistic this will be the case.

3) Pressure:

Usually this would be a negative, yet we have seen these U-23 stars shine when it was all on the line. Being down 0-1 to Honduras in the CONCACAF Pre-Olympic tournament final in the 70th minute wasn’t enough to stop Fabian and co. from claiming the crown. Not to mention the excellent finish in the Toulon cup, Mexico has shown it can turn things around late.

Mexico will take the pitch Thursday against South Korea in London at 9:30 A.M. EST. We will see if the guys can build off the positives…or if the negatives will be too much for a medal.

Vamos Mexico!

Mexico 1, Great Britain 0: Behind closed doors

Ryan Giggs watches Marco Fabian control the ball(FEMEXFUT.ORG.MX Photo)

Mexico defeated Great Britain by one goal during three 30 minute periods in a preparation game on Sunday at the Marbella Football Center.

Marco Fabian scored for Mexico in the 28th minute to give the Olympic team the win.

Azteca showdown: Don’t look now…but the rivalry will return

The Mexicans rarely disappoint at Azteca in front of over 110,000 die-hard fans (Zimbio)

 

Not too long ago I posted an article on the potential of the USA-Mexico rivalry returning to Mexico in 2012. At that time, it was no longer confirmed by the U.S. or the FMF. However, before you could mark the game off your calender for good…FIFA confirms that the USA will meet Mexico at Azteca on August 15th!

The game does come at an odd time for El Tri though, as the Olympics will have only been done for a total of four days (hoping that Mexico makes it that far in the tournament). Unfortunately, we most likely won’t see some of those young prospects like Fabian, Aquino, Herrera and many others against the Yanks. The game will be a nice test, because in early September, Mexico will be going down to Costa Rica for WCQ. The last time the USA and Mexico faced-off at Azteca, Mexico won 2-1. The two goals came from Israel Castro and Miguel Sabah.

*Interesting note: The game is rumored to be a rare evening match, as Mexico usually plays early afternoon matches at home in Azteca.

Vamos Mexico!  (Highlights from 2009)

Mexicans Abroad 6/2-6/3

Few remain playing, but rumors are starting to grow. Check out what happened to the Mexicans abroad this past week!