Mexico comes out victorious against Iceland with four goals, three of them coming from Chivas players. With the World Cup near, this game was one of the last chances many players had to impress Javier ‘El Vasco’ Aguirre. While many youngsters will be left off the final roster, this young group of players shows a lot of promise for the future of Mexico.
Since this friendly was scheduled outside of an official FIFA window, only Liga MX players were called-up for the match. Iceland also dealt with the same situation as some of their best players were unavailable for this game.
All 21 players called-up knew this was one of their last chances to impress Aguirre because the official World Cup roster will be submitted early as the Mexican Federation plans to start preparation for the World Cup in April. Whether they are a veteran or a youngster, all players had to prove themselves and after last night’s win ‘El Vasco’ has some tough decisions to make.
Mexico had the first chance of the night as club teammates Richard Ledezma and Armando ‘Hormiga’ Gonzalez teamed up for a shot at goal. Before Ledezma’s ball could reach ‘Hormiga’ it was defended out for the first corner of the night for the home side. It was a short corner that was played back into the box that Chivas player Brian Gutierrez attempted to head towards goal but the ball went to the side and out for a goal kick instead. It was then Iceland’s turn for a dangerous opportunity when youngster Everardo Del Villar made a mistake but thankfully the visitors were not able to capitalize on it. A few minutes later Del Villar made another mistake as Agust Thorsteinsson was all over him and Del Villar could not shake him. Thorsteinsson won the battle and took the ball away from the youngster. This forced Jose ‘Tala’ Rangel to come out and block the shot with his torso. The young Mexican defender made two big mistakes and was lucky that the visitors were not able to capitalize on either of them. A minute later the Mexican defense made another mistake, this time it was Israel Reyes who allowed the visitors to take a shot but ‘Tala’ was able to collect the ball. After these mistakes it looked as if Iceland had found their rhythm as they were pushing forward. This positive play only lasted for a few minutes until Mexico opened the score in the 22nd minute. Jesus Gallardo made his way up the left flank where he passed the ball to ‘Hormiga’ who was waiting inside the box. The youngster made his way to the near post drawing out the goalkeeper and defender which left Ledezma open on the far post. ‘Hormiga’ sent the ball towards the open teammate and Ledezma had no trouble heading the ball into the net for the first goal of the night and his first goal for Mexico.
After the first, it didn’t take long for the second goal to arrive. It actually only took two minutes. Once again Gallardo made his way up the left side as he crossed the ball to the other side of the box and it went through the legs of multiple blue jerseys where ‘Hormiga’ was waiting to push the ball over the line for Mexico’s second goal of the night and his first with the team.
A few minutes later Iceland attempted to shorten the gap as they had a dangerous shot at goal. Rangel was forced to come out again to calm his defense down. The visitors had another chance before the half ended as they were awarded a corner. The home side was able to take care of the threat easily as the referee put an end to the first half.
As the second half started both sides brought on the same lineup from the first half. Both coaches were content with how their sides had done up to that point. The action started immediately as Gallardo sent a ball over to Armando Gonzalez hoping for another similar outcome to the two goals. This time Iceland’s goalkeeper caught on and was able to collect the ball before Gonzalez got on the end of it. Even up two goals, Mexico wanted another, especially youngster Gutierrez who wanted his first goal with Mexico just like his two teammates. He created some attacks and even tried to finish some plays but he was unable to get the ball into the back of the net. After 12 minutes Aguirre made his first substitutions of the night. He took off Roberto Alvarado, Efrain Alvarez and Marcel Ruiz for Alexis Gutierrez, Carlos Rodriguez and Erick Sanchez. These changes did not disrupt the game as Mexico scored two minutes later. The home side won a corner that Alexis Gutierrez took as he sent the ball into the box where Gallardo was there to head it backwards and into the back of the net. Gallardo finally got his goal after assisting the first two goals.
It was soon after the third goal that Iceland made their first substitutions of the night. After the third goal it seemed as though Mexico had slowed down. They weren’t creating as many chances as they had in the first half and it got worse when Aguirre made more changes as he took off Ledezma, Gonzalez and Erik Lira for Jesus Garza, Guillermo Martinez and Diego Campillo. The youngsters on the team were the ones who kept their feet on the pedal and the substitutions didn’t do that. They weren’t creating as many chances and Brian Gutierrez was one of the few who created his own plays in the midfield but his teammates did not capitalize on them. Substitutions are supposed to make the game better but this was not the case as these subs seemed to make Mexico slower and less creative. Due to this, Iceland had more possession in the second half but they weren’t able to do much with it. They only had two shots in this half but neither of them were on target. As the game made its way into the final minutes Mexico slowed down just trying to see the game out. Then it was two minutes into added time when Brian Gutierrez had the chance he had been looking for all night long. After a long ball in from the defense an Iceland defender attempted to stop the ball from going past him. He hit the ball with his chest but he was unable to control it any further and instead the ball bounced to the feet of Gutierrez. The youngster took the ball where he made his way towards the box where he found himself 1v1 with the goalkeeper. Gutierrez did not hesitate and he sent the ball past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net for Mexico’s fourth of the night and his first goal with the team.
Mexico was able to take care of business last night against Iceland. Many youngsters had a lot to prove in this match and they did just that. Javier Aguirre now has a lot to think about regarding the roster for the World Cup. Before he already had it in his head who he will take but then these youngsters showed up and proved it isn’t the case. Whether he takes them or not, it looks like Mexico’s future will be going in the right direction which hasn’t been said in a long, long time.