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A to Z of WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA 2010 - Mexico
MEXICO
Mexico, one of the participants in the inaugural World Cup in 1930, have themselves hosted the Finals twice, in 1970 and 1986. It may be something of a coincidence, but playing on home turf saw them reach the quarter –finals, their highest ever placing, on both occasions. Playing at altitude (Mexico City is 2240 m above sea level) obviously suits them, something to keep in mind when Mexico play their final Group match against Uruguay in Rustenburg (1500 m) on June 22nd. Chandlers are offering odds of 13/8 on a Mexican victory.
When they first hosted the Finals in 1970, their opening match was a 0-0 draw with the Soviet Union. A 4-0 win over fellow Central American rivals El Salvador and a 1- 0 victory over Belgium saw the Mexicans advance to the next round, the quarter-finals, as there were then only 16 teams competing. Here Mexico faced Italy but, despite taking an early lead, eventually lost 4-1 to a team who went on to contest the Final with Brazil.
It was not until 16 years later (1986) that Mexico again reached the quarter-finals. By this time the competition had expanded to accommodate 24 teams. In Round 1 they again played Belgium, winning 2-1, drew 1-1 with Paraguay and beat Iraq 1-0. Overall they finished top of their group and beat Bulgaria 2-0 in the last 16. In the quarter-finals they met the mighty West Germany but were eliminated 4-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw. In subsequent World Cup Finals Mexico never progressed beyond Round 2.
Qualification for South Africa has been a long, two-phase process for those countries which make up the North and Central Americas and Caribbean Confederation. In the second phase Mexico contested one of the three Finals spots on offer with USA, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago. Mexico won 6 of their 10 matches, drew 1 and lost 3. In their final match they beat El Salvador 4-1 and so took the second automatic qualification spot behind their arch rivals USA.
The man in charge of ‘El Tri’ is Javier Aguirre, now in his second spell with the national side. He first coached the side during the 2002 World Cup and went on to have a very good career as a coach in La Liga in Spain. He returned to national duty in June 2009 after a certain Sven Goran Ericsson failed to set the world of El Tri alight during his year in charge. Ericsson’s record of W6, D1, L6 (a 46.6%) was deemed poor by fans and the Mexican media alike. By contrast Aguirre’s record of an average of 67% wins has helped restore the players’ faith in themselves.
Due in the main to very lucrative TV contracts Mexican football clubs can rightly claim to be amongst the richest outside of Europe. As a result few of their native players have had to go abroad. One of Aguirre’s first acts was to persuade 37 year old forward Guauhtemoc Blanco out of retirement. With 108 caps and 37 goals and wearing the captain’s arm-band, he has been a great asset in helping the younger squad members, like defender Efrain Juarez and midfielder Andres Guadado, to find their best form.
‘Best form’ is indeed what will be needed if they are to progress to the quarter-finals!
Mexico are ranked 17th in the World and have been drawn in the same group as France, Uruguay and South Africa. Their opening match is against the hosts and will set the tone for the tournament. Skybet are offering 6/4 on a Mexican win, with 9/4 from Blue Square for a draw. Their odds of winning Group A are 19/5 with William Hill whilst Bet365 see El Tri winning the competition outright at 125/1. Were this to happen the Mexican Waves would ripple all the way back to Central America!
Posted: Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 @ 11:03 am by Mark
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