Mexico’s final chance to qualify for the 2014 World Cup will kick off today as ‘El Tri’ takes on New Zealand in the first leg of their two-leg qualifying playoff series (3:30pm, Univision).
Mexico is fielding a squad made up only of domestic players as new manager Miguel Herrera tries to build a squad around his successful Club America squad. That means ‘El Tri’ will be without the likes of Chicharito Hernandez and Gio Dos Santos as they try to secure their place in the Brazil World Cup.
The Kiwis are heavy underdogs in the series, but they will look to frustrate Mexico with their defensive-oriented approach. A good result in the first leg could set up New Zealand to complete the upset in the return leg in New Zealand.
If you will be watching today’s match, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action.
And Mexico will still be eliminated by Argentina at the Cup.
…and the US will still be eliminated by Ghana.
WC prediction: Mexico eliminated in the Round of 16. The U.S. out in the group stage.
This is the best US Team we’ve had in a while, and we still made it to the knockouts with Bunker Bob as coach. We’ll at least make knockouts.
There is no way Herrera takes his so-called Team America squad to the WC. It was specifically for these two playoff games. He will change it up with European based players. If he doesn’t, he is completely nuts.
I gotta say. Mexico now has two teams. A team of saviors and a team of losers.
In 6 months, he somehow has to get all those losers who were dropped to put their heads on straight. Everyone in Mexico is going to constantly remind them how bad they were… It shall be interesting.
He should take Chivas’ XI to New Zealand
Just announced this week: LA Galaxy pint-sized center back AJ De La Garza (AJDLG?) is giving up his right to play again for the USMNT and throwing in with the Guam national team. Yes… Guam. Some aunt or uncle or something. Based on the atrocity New Zealand just turned in, I am hereby starting the SBI Guam supporters club to usurp the Kiwis and win the Oceania federation in the next cycle and take out the Mexico Urine Bags once and for all. Who’s with me??? Guam, Guam, Guam, Guam…
Guam is in the Asian confederation.
It would be funny if Mexico now thinks this is the team they should take to Brazil.
Miguel Herrera already said that the first thing he was going to do after qualifying to the WC was visiting Carlos Vela to convince him to play with Mexico and get adapt all the mexican players in Europe to his system.
The ‘Captain Obvious’ Observation of the Day: Jordan and New Zealand stink. Not sure anyone doubted that before, but now we all know for certain. Not a great day for the AFC or Oceania.
For all I know, Club America beat New Zealand 5-1 today. No offense to NZ, but they’re not a quality side, even with Mexico struggling.
Too bad their best player Winston Reid is out injured.
….and just in case your day isn’t totally ruined yet: Rafa Marquez scored the 5th goal.
Good on Mexico. they brought the hard guys today and left the pretty heartless boys home.
Bitter m
I don’t know what feed or station you all are watching but this announcer just made everything okay by me…..New Zealand hasn’t played a meaningful game since March! Now doesn’t that clear everything up?
These comments are harsh. Mexico are playing a strong, attacking game. Credit where credit is due.
If Mexico played like this against Uruguay they would be the one losing 5 – 1.
I’m a massive USMNT homer, but Mexico played a good game. They attacked centrally, they passed well, and they defended like a cohesive unit. Uruguay may still have beaten them, but not 5-1.
Your right. It would have been 7-1.
No way Mexico scores 7 goals. Uruguay ain’t a pushover.
Uruguay would certainly be favorites against Mexico but seeing as how this very same star studded Uruguay team only managed to overcome Mexico’s U22 squad at Copa America 2011 by one goal, off a spilled rebound by the Mexican GK, there is really no indication that they would blow Mexico out of the water. These two teams match up rather well, believe it or not.
I’d not say Mexico played that well. This result is more of New Zealand not being very good.
If we’re talking about team and individual performance, I don’t know how anyone can say there has not been any improvement. Compared to what we saw from Mexico during the Hexagonal, this team had more triangulations and positive movement in the attacking half in this game than they had shown all throughout the last ten games. I’m sure Herrera will be pleased with the fact that Mexico created a good deal of chances by combining quickly through the middle. Those are traits that can translate even when playing against equal or better opposition. Frankly, this is a formation that suits the Mexicans much better, especially in defense where the flat back four was often disjointed and flat footed against ground attacks. Given what Mexico showed under Aguirre three years ago with a similar formation, it’s really not far fetched to think they could have a decent showing at the World Cup, especially when they have time to plug in the European players like dos Santos, Vela, Hernandez, Moreno, Herrera and Reyes. Even that youngster Corona could thrive in this kind of system.
People make too much of the fact that Mexico was awful during the last qualifying round. If we know one thing about World Cup Qualifying in our region is that success during these rounds is never a guarantee for success at the World Cup itself.
I think it has to be acknowledge, New Zealand made a clean game, their have been faults but never bad intention, that is Fair Play.
fair play just lost 5-1 to a team of divers, a crowd that boos national anthems and throws urine at players, and Rafael Marquez.
sure man, you can fill out your complain and send it to FIFA
I’ve been to Azteca twice and never saw anyone throw piss. Beers? yeahhh but fortunately no piss.
I’ve also never heard any players complain about about piss being thrown on/at them.
The booing of the national anthems is in poor taste though. Frankly, they should not even be played prior to games.
Rafa, now that’s crossing the line.
The way they just celebrated goal #5 on the sidelines was pretty pathetic.
No one ever side Mexico was reigning champions of class.
+1. They are the champions of urine bag throwing and spilling beer on journalists’ laptops.
They acted like they just won the World Cup
And yet Mexico will still do better in the WC than the other Concacaf teams.
Yes, and I could probably win a couple events at the special olympics.
Once in their history have they made it past the round of 16. Once. And that was on home soil in 1986. Add in the fact that they often get seeded, leading to favorable round of 16 matchups, via manipulating the FIFA coefficient rankings by playing “neutral” games in LA in front of more screaming fans than could fit in Azteca and the statistic becomes even worse.
They actually have made it to the quarters twice and both times they did so while hosts. Also, the only CONCACAF team to ever be seeded while not hosting was Mexico in 2006.
The fact that they are one of only three teams to have gotten out of the group stages in the last five World Cups, have won the Confederations Cup and usually play very well at Copa America is what ups their ranking.
I don’t know where you got your info from but it’s obviously wrong.
yes NZ! that one feels good. it’s like lobing a bag of warm urine onto mexico’s celebration
Sympathy goal NZ, need another 2 I’d say.
That road goal could prove massive when NZ is up 4-0 in the second leg.
Congrats to Mexico. I’m glad they saved this for after the hex.
We’re number four, We’re number four!
I can’t wait until this is a WC match since Sepp wants like 100 teams in the tourney.
This is just depressing.
Vucetich has been culpable on 2-3 of these. Moss saving the day outside the first.
Peralta, was one of Tena’s men.
My brain screwed: up Ivan Vicelich, CB for NZ.
4th. Was only a matter of time.
It was a matter of time.
Too bad for the keeper. By far the best player NZ player.
Apparently yellow cards do carry from previous games.
So far 3 NZ players are missing the return leg.
It’s still WCQ, why wouldn’t they carry over?
Because they’re coming from different qualifying tournaments with different numbers of games and different rules on card accumulation. It’s very odd that they carry over. Doesn’t really make sense. Any smart confederation would just make a rule that all cards are wiped off the books at the end of their own qualifying tournaments.
huh?
That is not a decision individual confederations can make. That is established by FIFA.
the good news is that mexico hasn’t scored in 20 minutes. silver lining, no?
They’ll get another one before this is over.
The NZ keeper acting as if they’re up 3-0
and 5-0 … oh well
Anybody know if this is on tv in Canada?
Are you sure you want to do that?
There must be a “Saved by the Bell” rerun on that you would find more interesting…
If Mexico knew how to stay on side this game would really be out of hand
This Mexico team has to be the most undeserving team ever to go to the WC. They should play in another playoff in a round-robin against the UEFA playoff teams that lose. I’m sure Sepp can make it happen. Especially if Ronaldo and Portugal don’t make the WC…
I really hope Portugal can win that match.. not to see Cristiano in the world cup would be a crime!!
Yeah… But I like me some Zlatan.
why? he is a dbag. this guy gets in fights with his own teammates. he even said himself he didn’t like Onyewu because he thought he was too big. that makes no sense!
i used to like Ibra but he is by far one of the biggest dbags in football today.
yeah, that guy is kind of crazy
This. Fifa should take the 1.5 from Concacaf, 1.5 from Asia, and 1 from Africa and give them to UEFA and Comebol.