Is Mexico’s reign as Concacaf Favorite over?
As long as we can remember when the name CONCACAF giant came forward, Mexico was always the one to come to mind. El Tri has dominated the CONCACAF region for many years now. The eight-time Gold Cup Champions have repeatedly beaten everyone in their way in CONCACAF, but times are not the same. As of recently, it seems as if Mexico has lost its title of "Giant in CONCACAF" or at least made for a good debate. The USMNT and Canada have stepped up with their recent talent and have opened CONCACAF up for debate.
credits: AS USA
In the last round of CONCACAF qualifiers, Mexico has struggled in both games so far. In the first match against the USMNT, they failed to find the back of the net and were saved multiple times by their best player of the match, Guillermo Ochoa. This match was played in Mexico's fortress of a home stadium, El Azteca. El Azteca is a superdome of a stadium. For many years opposing players feared and hated playing there because of the extreme altitude that Mexico City sits at and the fans. El Azteca seats around 87 thousand people and makes Mexico a favorite anytime they play a home game; at least it is supposed to seem like that. El Azteca recently has been a place where Mexico has struggled to find results. In their last five home games, Mexico has only been able to gain two wins. Whether you blame FIFA's sanctions on Mexico and having them play these games behind closed doors or the team’s performance, it is still not good enough for the standards we hold Mexico to.
Credits: The Athletic
Their 1-0 win against Honduras was nothing short of painful. Their lack of creativity and a presence in the attacking third made for a nerve-racking game against the last place Honduras team, who have yet to win a game in the qualifying stages. Most blame can be put on their front three Raul Jimenez, Jesus “El Tecatito” Corona, and Hirving “El Chuky” Lozano. This front three has faced criticism due to their lack of scoring in recent games. In all of their qualifier matches, these three have racked up a total of four goals. Four goals are underwhelming and disappointing for a front three that plays for European clubs like Wolves, Sevilla, and Napoli. Mexico can not find their solution to their attacking problems on the bench either as Rogelio Funes Mori and Alexis Vega have been underperforming.
Credits: El Futbolero
Other teams in CONCACAF do not seem to have this problem. For the USMNT, Christian Pulisic is doing what he does best for them, scoring. Although he missed clear chances against Mexico in their 0-0 draw in El Azteca, he was able to bounce back with a hat-trick against Panama on Sunday. Pulisic now has five goals in all the qualifying games. For Canada, things are not much different. Lille forward Jonathan David also has five goals to his name during the third round of qualifiers. David has played a major role in Canada’s success and has helped them become the first and only team in CONCACAF to officially qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Credits: The Pride of London
What can Mexico do to fix its attacking problems?
If you can not score, you are not going to win games. Mexico needs answers to their attacking problems and many believe they are in the MLS. Los Angeles holds two of the best international players to play for El Tri. LA Galaxy 's Javier “Chicharito” Hernández and LAFC' s Carlos Vela. Chicharito and Carlos Vela were both parts of Mexico’s golden era. They helped Mexico win countless Gold Cup Titles, they were both a part of the team that took down Germany 1-0 in the 2018 World Cup, and now they are both tearing up the MLS. Chicharito, who is Mexico's all-time leading goal scorer, has started this season where he left off in 2021. In his first four games this season, he has been able to find the back of the net twice, including a game-winner against NYFC. Chicharito has repeatedly missed out on Tata Martino's call-ups and has not played for el tri since 2019 due to his internal problems with the federation and Tata Martino. It is not like Chicharito does not want to play for Mexico. He has repeatedly expressed interest in returning to El Tri. It has gone as far as LA Galaxy calling out Tata Martino and Mexico on Twitter by tweeting “We’re just saying how much more fun this game would be if Chicharito was playing.”
As for Carlos Vela, the stats speak for themselves. In four starts for LAFC, he has four goals and one assist. The story is a bit different for Carlos Vela. In a recent interview, he explained that his time with El Tri has come to an end and the door has closed on that chapter of his career. He added that it was time for players like Raul Jimenez and “Chucky” Lozano to step in. It's a harsh reality that Mexico fans have to face. Carlos Vela might never wear the Mexico jersey ever again.
Credits: LA Times
Is the answer a new manager?
The "Fuera Tata" or “Out with Tata” chants have started in Mexico City and they are loud and clear. Gerardo Tata Martino has been facing heat from the Mexican federation to get Mexico to the World Cup, but his results are making it hard. Tata Martino should be shaking in his boots as Mexico has replaced managers before World Cups due to poor performances in the qualifiers. In 2013, Mexico replaced Jose Manuel de la Torre with interim coach Victor Manuel Vucetich who later was replaced by Miguel Herrera. If Tata Martino were to be sacked by the Mexican Federation, all signs point to Miguel Herrera making his return as head coach of the Mexican National Team
Credits: Codelist