Mexico at the World Cup

Mexico

Vital Statistics:

World Cup appearances – 13

Best World Cup – Quarter-Finals; 1970 & 1986

FIFA World Ranking – 17

Nickname(s) – El Tri

Group – A

Mexico made it as far as Round 2 in the last World Cup, bypassing what looked an easy group before losing out to Argentina via a stunning Maxi Rodriguez effort. That was the fourth time Mexico had progressed as far as Round 2 but they’ve yet to better that and have strangely come unstuck at the Round 2 stage in their last four World Cup’s. Not since 1986 have Mexico delved deeper into a World Cup then the second round and so they’ll be hoping to end a 16 year run of Round 2 misery at South Africa.

The Mexico fans have always demanded a lot from their side but the team never really lives up to expectations back home. They did, however, secure their fifth Gold Cup in 2009 after beating USA 5-0 in the final. Their victory of the Gold Cup inspired the players onto World Cup qualification as several months later Mexico overcame their below par start to qualification and finishing qualifying strongly, winning four of their last five qualifiers and consequently finished the group as runners-up behind USA. They were hardly convincing through qualifying but the important factor is that they’re off to South Africa and now the pressure will really start to build back home with Mexico aiming to go further than the second round for the first time in 24 years.

Manager: Javier Aguirre

Captain: Rafael Marquez

Key Player: Carlos Vela

Mexico have a whole host of players which could shine in South Africa, whilst they also boast a nice mixture of young, raw potential and old, experienced players which could prove beneficial this summer. However, we’ve pinpointed Carlos Vela as a player who could really shine this summer. The Arsenal striker is a fond favourite with both the fans and the manager and already has 22 caps to his name despite being just 21 years-old. In his 22 appearances for his country, Vela has netted seven times which isn’t a bad ratio considering his age. He doesn’t always get a consistent run in the team at club level but Javier Aguirre obviously sees plenty of potential in Vela and we’re hopeful Carlos Vela, one of Arsene Wenger’s many prodigy’s, will have a successful and glittering World Cup.

Betting Brief:

The Mexicans have always been a red herring in the World Cup. A team you’d rather avoid until the knock-out stage of the competition. Now they boast a wide array of players, ranging from the youthful and exuberant to those with plenty of previous World Cup experience that Mexico could actually be the summers dark horse. The bookies have taken a similar viewpoint on the Mexicans but feel others clearly have better prospects as their outright price tag of 125/1 with SkyBet clearly suggests they are only an outside chance of winning the tournament.

The problem with Mexico being their tough looking group, Group A. In order to to at least reach the second round, a feat they’ve managed for the previous four World Cup’s, they would need to overcome Uruguay & South Africa, as well as group favourites France. It’s a big challenge but it’s one they could quite easily complete. At 125/1 they at least look a decent outside punt.

Outright Odds: 125/1 SkyBet

Strength:

We suppose Mexico’s main attribute will be their versatility as they do have a wide range of players at their disposal, all possessing different abilities and qualities. However, we feel they will be at their deadliest in the final third as they do have a handful of pacey individuals in attack; Dos Santos, Vela & Sanchez, while Andres Guardado is no slouch. Our only reservation about this bright Mexico front line is the vast majority of their forwards are very young, with Deportivo La Coruna’s Andres Guardado being the oldest out of the names mentioned above. They do have some veterans up front if needed, with a Mexico legend, Cauahtemoc Blanco still available for action at the age of 37. The Mexican, who is an idol with the fans, has 107 caps to his name and has scored 37 international goals.

Weakness:

Is perhaps that Mexico don’t have enough world class players that can perform to a high level on a consistent basis; game in, game out. They do have a handful of players with raw potential and a good few of those have the makings to be stars in the near future, but South African 2010 could come too soon for them and against the high profile nations, the ones with serious quality in their ranks, Mexico should come unstuck. Still. They are a team no-one would ideally want to face and they could spring a surprise.

How they got to South Africa?:

Mexico didn’t get off to the best of starts in their bid to qualify for South Africa, 2010. They started qualifying with back-to-back defeats following defeats away at USA & Honduras, and by the mid-way stage of proceedings, Mexico were in a precarious position after losing four of their opening five qualifiers. However, they finished qualifying strongly, beating Trinidad & Tobago, USA, Costa Rica & Honduras in a four match winning streak which evidentially sent them to South Africa before they played out a 2-2 draw with Trinidad & Tobago in their final qualifiers.

It was a poor start but they came on strongly in the end and they produced the goods just when it was needed and, more importantly, when the pressure was really on. However, a similarly poor start in South Africa could spell the end for Mexico before the hit the right gears so a quick dash out of the blocks is imperative for the Mexicans to have a successful World Cup.

World Cup Fixtures and Results