Mexico was uncompetitive in the second half and fell 4–0 to Colombia at AT&T Stadium in the worst defeat of the Javier Aguirre era.
Jhon Lucumí opened the scoring early in the game. Mexico responded well and was slightly better than Colombia in what remained of the first half, but failed to generate clear chances to level the match.
Aguirre’s side crumbled after the break, however, and Colombia was merciless. Luis Díaz, Jefferson Lerma and Johan Carbonero all found the back of the net to tie the bow on a dominant win for Néstor Lorenzo’s side and
For Mexico, it’s a worrying performance in which all of the team’s issues were exposed. Significant improvement is needed or Ecuador could very well hand Mexico back-to-back defeats when they meet next Tuesday.
Here’s three takeaways from Mexico’s worrying defeat against Colombia.
No Raul Jiménez, No Party
A minor hip injury prevented Raúl Jiménez from taking part in Mexico’s October international friendlies. Against Colombia, his absence was massively felt.
Santiago Giménez started and tirelessly battled against Colombia’s center backs trying to make something happen out of nothing. However, with no service from his teammates, the AC Milan striker was often completely lost up front and he failed to have an impact on the match.
Over the past year, Mexico has developed a kind of Jiménez-dependency. It’s not just Jimenez’s 10 goals in his last 16 games for Mexico that El Tri missed, but his overall impact on the team’s attack.
Jiménez has become a one-man attacking system for El Tri. The striker routinely drops to midfield to serve as an outlet in build-up and he then goes on to construct and many times finalize attacks. Without him, Mexico looked incapable of generating any danger.
Aguirre must find a way to unlock the best of his other forwards, because right now, El Tri seems destined to arrive at the World Cup with its goalscoring hopes almost exclusively placed on a striker that will be 35 years old next summer.
Mexico Has a Goalkeeper Problem
Mexico would’ve lost to Colombia regardless of who was between the sticks, but Luis Malagón undeniably contributed to El Tri’s lopsided defeat.
The Club América goalkeeper continues to struggle whenever an action demands him to abandon the goal line to go out and fight for the ball. Colombia's first goal of the night came from a set piece that Lucumí tapped in inside Malagón’s six-yard box, with the goalkeeper stood firmly beneath his goal.
In Colombia’s fourth, Juan Fernando Quintero played a through ball from behind the halfway line that Carbonero got to before Malagón just outside the penalty area. The goalkeeper initially hesitated to go for the ball—had he not done so, he would’ve gotten there way before Carbonero.
Malagón is a very good shot-stopper, but he’s limited in every other aspect of the game. His recent issues appear to have also started to impact his confidence.
The problem for Aguirre is that there’s not many worthy alternatives to replace him. Raúl Rangel has been Malagón’s backup but whenever he’s been given a chance, he’s also been mistake prone. Carlos Acevedo is Mexico’s third goalkeeper on the roster and he’s conceded 21 goals through 12 games in Liga MX this season.
Malagón is still Mexico’s best option heading into the World Cup, but there’s no denying his recent performances are alarming and the goalkeeper position could very-well become El Tri’s Achilles heel next summer.
A Massive Reality Check
It’s only the third defeat Mexico has suffered in 20 games since Aguirre returned as manager last September—four if you count a friendly against River Plate in January with a side made up almost entirely of U-20 players.
Mexico returned to the summit of Concacaf this year, lifting both the Concacaf Nations League and the Gold Cup to reposition El Tri as the region’s powerhouse.
But Mexico is still far from being a real threat against the truly elite national teams across the world. Furthermore, El Tri is still not even at the level of some of the second tier teams in the world, such as Colombia.
Mexico’s most recent defeat was a 4–2 loss against Switzerland early in the summer. Since, it has failed to defeat South Korea and Japan.
El Tri is the 14th-ranked national team in the world according to FIFA’s rankings, just one spot below the team against which it lost 4–0. That’s how big the difference is.
Sure, it might’ve been an off night for Aguirre’s men, but recent performances indicate that although Mexico still has enough quality to dominate in Concacaf, there’s still a long way to go to truly compete against the top teams in the world.
Mexico should be able to advance past the group stage in next summer’s World Cup, but as of right now, it’s hard to envision El Tri making a deep run in the tournament.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as El Tri’s Nightmare in Texas: Takeaways from Mexico’s Shocking Defeat Against Colombia.
