Mexico took advantage of the circumstances and finally managed to shake off the hegemony that the United States had exercised over them since 2019.
Javier Aguirre’s team is still struggling to find its best form, but thanks to an inspired night from Raúl Jiménez, they managed to take a 2-0 victory on Tuesday night against their classic rival, who played with more than half a dozen absences.
The victory also serves to close a stage of player observation in one of the three co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup. El Tri will have an official competition on the next FIFA date, there will be no more room for experiments,
The matches against Valencia of Spain and the United States also leave plenty of room for analysis at the dawn of Aguirre’s third stage as Mexico’s coach.
One less problem
Since Jiménez suffered a brutal head injury almost four years ago, the national team has had a hard time finding a number nine to replace the goals they lost with the departure of Javier Hernández.
The Fulham striker was never completely absent from the team and even went to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He did so as a substitute because he struggled to regain his form and many openly questioned whether he would ever be able to do so.
Henry Martín took over as the starting player and, more recently, Santiago Giménez was tasked with the responsibility of scoring for the Mexicans without much success.
In his most recent performances for his club, Jimenez has shown signs of a big leap in quality and what he showed in the match against the United States may give Mexico hope of a solution to its lack of goals.
“Raúl has returned in very good shape, he has scored goals, made assists, he looks mature and in good form,” said Aguirre. “He is a very important role model for us and I am happy for him because he is a very good lad.”
What will happen in the arc?
As the games go by, this remains one of the great enigmas surrounding the Mexican national team. Aguirre has alternated between Raúl Rangel and Luis Malagón in recent matches, but no one can rule out veteran Guillermo Ochoa.
Malagón started the race as the big favorite due to his performances with América, which were key in the league’s second championship. But the physical condition of Rangel — from Chivas — intrigues the coach too much.
By this FIFA date, Aguirre called up Ochoa — now at the Portuguese club AVS — and did not give him any minutes, but that does not mean he is already out of contention.
“I talked to them and ‘Memo’ is perhaps the one who has the least to prove to me. I have known him for many years, but I wanted to see Malagón in front of a full stadium against the United States and I liked it,” said Aguirre. “I am happy with the three goalkeepers, but with ‘Memo’ you can feel his presence because he helps the youngsters and has charisma.”
The question of who will be the definitive starting goalkeeper will not be cleared up until November 15, when Mexico faces Honduras in the Nations League.
What’s next?
In the last two call-ups, Aguirre has called up almost 40 players because he wanted to see who could fulfil what he was looking for, not only on the field but off it. That stage has now come to an end.
In the quarterfinals of the Nations League, Mexico will face Honduras, a rival that came close to knocking it out in the same phase of the last edition of the tournament.
Although Aguirre did not yet reach the position, he knows that he cannot take the Hondurans lightly.
“The match is a turning point, a before and after, there are no tests, it is to go through or be eliminated, they are two very important matches,” the coach acknowledged. “Last time there we couldn’t and in the end with a goal from Edson (Álvarez) we went to penalties, Honduras is a rival that I respect a lot.”
Since he took over in August, Aguirre has repeatedly said that talent is not enough to be on his teams. The players he chooses must be committed every time they are called upon and show that they can handle the pressure.
“There are some intense matches coming up and we will be watching the team. We will have these filters to have players prepared for this type of commitment,” he concluded.
