México v. Canada 1-1 12/Mar/08

The Olympic venture begins and (supposedly) no jokes or excuses should be made. It is the pure and undoubtful taste of victory that Mexican fans want.
To begin the line-up was very simplistic and pragmatic, as in all Sanchez's teams. The game was in a particular hurry after the early Canadian chance at 3'. Ochoa and the complete defense were ravaged by the lucky North Americans' number '10'. The dismal defense saw no order or even training experienced. This disorganization was showed right from the beginning, due to a lack of leadership. "Pato" Araujo has not afforded it, due to Mr. Sanchez's demands. I do not agree of Ochoa as Captain. There is no doubt about his experience but when the experience is needed forty or fifty meters across the field, Mr. Sanchez lacks intelligence. Canada's strategy, right from the beginning, was that a lot of long balls and counter-attacks should take place, instead of what the Mexican side was 'trying' to make. In the first stages of the match Canada seemed more possessive and were developing a dynamic game style. Edgar Castillo was one of the sole players who made the attempt of breaking through in the game, among with Sergio Ávila and Villaluz. At the 21' the penalty was clear, and later capitalized by Landín. After that the Mexican side had to rely completely on the genius of Ávila and Villaluz. Sergio "Gaucho" Ávila, has had a terrific development at the never ending prodigy making basics of Chivas. He has rhythm, intelligence, and depth.
Following Canada expansion and Mexico control the game entered in a passive and normal rhythm. Villauz was certainly the man of the match swaying between midfield towards the upper part. In the second half the Canadian team was completely overwhelmed and tired. The Mexican team dominated through the whole second period. As far it has been the best U-23 game. Ávila and Castillo deserved a big applause being the only two payers conscious of the qualification. Landín red card was purely childish and stupid. He had an unmeasured intention. After the Canada expulsion the game completely reached the equilibrium. Sergio Ávila had a clear chance at 83' while Andrade had a chance at 86'. Mexico indeed deserved the win, but at the cost is waiting for the next game to cement main topics as attack and midfield. Zamora did really impressed me, he is a technical Flamini, a complete distributor such as Owen Hargreaves. Edgar Andrade resembles both positional and technically to the mature 'Zizou', and Pablo Barrera is always in the mood of being like Cristiano Ronaldo.
It is truly concerning that the team's offensive force it is diminished not just by untalented players such as Esqueda but also with undefined positions like Andrade's. It will be difficult that the team improves with the time. If the team does not clarify the game style, it could be very difficult to achieve the first place in the qualifier and exaggerating, the tournament.
Certainly the Cuban situation regarding the players that leave the concentration is shameful. It does not help the spectacle in any way, but politics and football are two completely different things, so do not mess with things that are already messy.