Photo: Etzel Espinosa / Imago7
By: EFE Updated 28 Sep 2022, 8: 09 am EDT
The Argentinian Gerardo Martino, coach of Mexico, admitted on Tuesday that his team must learn to neutralize high-ranking rivals like Colombia, who came back from 2-0 down to beat ‘Tri’ 2-3.
“When in front there is a hierarchy that appears and it is up to us to see how to neutralize it without it hurting us and regain control of the match. The hierarchy of Colombia prevailed and we were not able to control the game”, he explained to the media after Mexico fell in the friendly match against the Colombians in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara (USA).
The duel against the South Americans was the last of the ‘Tri’ before undertaking in November a last concentration in Girona, Spain, where he will play his last three preparation matches before debuting in the World Cup in Qatar 2022.
“The first thing I keep, apart from the fact that we lost a game, is that we were winning 2-0 in a good first half and I also keep the last minutes, which that I would not like to think about is the first ones minutes of the second half in which Colombia is heading to beat us”, added the strategist.
Martino recognized that Mexico has to defend better on dead balls so as not to fail in the quest to overcome the barrier of the round of 16 in the next World Cup.
“It was a moment when the rival prevailed and not every time they prevailed they scored two goals in six minutes. os, but I also prefer the final part that with the entry of some guys we recovered and we had the courage to look for the tie“, he expressed.
Andrés Guardado, one of the captains of Mexico, thanked Colombia for beating his team since he and his teammates will learn for Qatar 2022.
“This type of rival helps us improve a lot for the World Cup and hopefully we can arrive well prepared. We had a solid first half, but in a World Cup we have to maintain our level of play and know that in any moment in five minutes they tie us in today’s game, we can’t give that away”, said the Spanish Real Betis midfielder.
Guardado assured that in the last two friendly matches of Mexico, last Saturday in the 1-0 victory over Pe rú, and in the defeat against Colombia, Mexico has looked better than in the World Cup qualifiers.
“The group will arrive in Qatar well because we have loosened up a bit after the qualifying round did not a good game, apart from the fact that we finished second in Concacaf. In these two games he has been more eager to have more of the ball, more confidence in our game, we only have to hold him ”, he sentenced.
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