CONCACAF: Mexico in crisis and Canada’s surprises

Facing a torrent of criticism, Gerardo Martino seeks answers. and so on and so on.

The Argentine’s continuity as coach of Mexico has been called into question after a string of defeats ousted Alteri from first place in the final stage of the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers CONCACAF.

Prior to this, successive visits to the United States and Canada were alluded to as the most demanding tests during the three-year Martineau process. And everything went wrong.

With nearly eight degrees below zero, Mexico fell 2-1 to Canada on Tuesday night, four days after its 2-0 defeat to the United States.

El Tri’s lackluster level of play has unleashed several mutual accusations, highlighting the fact that the initiative has been meekly ceded to their North American rivals.

The Mexicans faltered at 14 points and relegated to third place which keeps them in the direct qualifying zone. With a better goal differential, Panama is ahead, accounting for the same number of units to establish itself in the fourth place that awards the card to the Intercontinental Playoff.

Surprisingly, Canada leads the round with 16 points from eight matches, followed by the United States with 15. The Americans, who had missed the previous World Cup finals, snatched a 1-1 draw in Jamaica on Tuesday.

The octagon, which has six dates left, goes into the holiday until the end of January.

So far, the nepotism that indicated the three North American teams to lead positions has materialized.

But Mexico’s collapse in November is alarming. The USA’s setback in Cincinnati was their third in a row this year against their classic regional rival, including the first CONCACAF Nations League Final and Gold Cup between June and August.

Although Martino counted the match against the United States with his key players, such as winger Hirving Lozano and striker Raul Jimenez, he was evident in all his lines.

He then traveled to Edmonton, where he dealt with the freezing temperatures and once again had problems getting out of play and generating scoring chances. Hector Herrera was not able to head the opponent until the end.

“In matches against the United States and Canada, the defenders, with the ball at their feet, with no options in front of them, had to take it back to Memo (goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa) to look for a kick,” he said. Jared Borgetti, retired Mexican striker and now TV Analyst.

“This is talking about a lack of work, this is talking about the fact that the team has really lost its core and that is more worrying that one player is not going to solve the problem for you, and that will be solved by working and knowing what to do in some games.”

Martino doesn’t share these questions, but he does realize that the level of selection has gone from top to bottom in his process, something he has attributed to the inconvenience of working amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“The balance of the epidemic here is a spherical setback, we are not better (than) in 2019”, Martino said, referring to a year in which the Gold Cup champions were crowned. Damage, we didn’t get to that level. general “.

What matches now, he said, is the improvement of football in the face of the resumption of the eight matches at the end of January, when Mexico will have to visit Jamaica. Before that, they will play a friendly match against Chile in Austin, Texas, on December 8.

What he doesn’t expect is to take a step to the side: “No, I happen to get better, nothing more,” he settled.

The bad news for Mexico is that they will not be able to count on Lozano for the trip to Kingston due to the accumulation of yellow cards.

The biggest surprise was the Canadian campaign, which not only controlled a tie, but was the only team undefeated so far. The Canadians have not qualified for the World Cup since their participation in Mexico 1986. In January, they will visit bottom club Honduras.

Meanwhile, Panama ranks fourth and does not give up on bidding for direct rating jobs.

The Canadian Panamanians have emulated some victories on this double history and came back, first to beat Honduras (3-2) on the road and then at home against El Salvador (2-1). And he will head in January to Costa Rica, which reached nine points, after beating Honduras (2-1) thanks to a goal in the last minute.

The Ticos team remains in fifth place, accompanied by Jamaica (7 points), El Salvador (6) and Honduras (3).