A victory over Ecuador yesterday has proven that the Mexican national squad is determined to leave a good impression at this years World Cup. Although the team performed well, the victory came in a bittersweet manner as two injuries for the Mexico squad mean that the national team may not be able to utilize their best players for certain positions.
The first of the injuries came about in the first half. Just two minutes after putting an amazing left footed shot past the keeper and into the bottom left corner of the goal, Mexico’s Luis Montes was caught in a crash with Segundo Castillo of Ecuador. Although both went down, Castillo was able to walk off of the field, while Montes had to be carried away in a stretcher. “El Chapito” suffered a fractured tibia, and fibula in the collision and will therefore miss the World Cup and most likely miss the rest of the year at the club level as well.
Montes was one of the key players in El Tri’s central midfield. His chemistry with the rest of the Mexican midfield, including his fellow Leon teammate Peña, along with his ability to distribute a ball and take deadly shots from outside the eighteen yard box made him a top contender for the starting spot in Brazil.
The second injury for El Tri during the match was unfortunately suffered by veteran defender and team captain, Rafael Marquez. Marquez was subbed out at half time with an injury to his right foot and although the injury was not as severe, he was still taken to the hospital as a precaution. It is unlikely that Marquez will miss the World Cup but he might be allowed to rest for the duration of the fine tuning period before the tournament.
The Bright Side:
Between the friendly matches against Israel and Ecuador, we saw a Mexican midfield capable of retaining possession and creating plays. This along with the ability to create goals was something that Chepo De La Torre’s Mexico squad lacked all throughout World Cup qualifying matches. However, current head coach Miguel “Piojo” Herrera has calculated every aspect of the current squad carefully. Every player is key in Herrera’s so far successful plan and because of this Mexico will more than likely be ready to make a good impression in Brazil.
Photo Credit: Jesus Hernandez
