The Mexican National Team has suffered a tough and historic defeat after being narrowly beaten difference for Venezuelaa team that secured the leadership of the sector and therefore, its ticket to the quarterfinal phase.
The Mexican team went from strength to strength as the minutes passed and ended up sunk on the field with the disappointment of not having been able to rescue, at least, a draw against a team that they dominated on the field for some periods.
Although in general Mexico’s bad moment corresponds to both players and strategist Jaime Lozano, the reality is that there were three footballers who were not up to the task of the match.
Orbelín Pineda became the great villain of the night. He came on as a replacement in the 78th minute and he decided to take the ball to take the penalty which, if achieved, would have meant the tie against Venezuela.
‘Orbe’ only touched the ball 16 times and although he did not have much time to show his football, the failure that had a direct implication in the Mexican defeat ended up condemning him.
The second footballer who left a lot to be desired was Julián Quiñones. The former América player never knew how to break with the marking of the left sector. He did not manage a single shot on the rival goal, lost the ball 16 times and committed the foul inside the area that ended up being the goal for Venezuela.
The third person largely responsible for the Mexican team’s defeat was Uriel Antuna, who once again was out of tune on the right wing. He just shot at a chance at the rival goalbarely reached 74 percent effectiveness and of the four centers attempted, only one was achieved effectively.
Now, Mexico will have to play for its ticket to the quarterfinals in the third match against Ecuador in a match where it is forced to win. Any other result will result in the early elimination of the Mexican team.