England v. Mexico 2-1 24/May/10

Some Paisanos outside Wembley.
[Photo: Getty Images via Soccernet Photo Gallery]


At last, Mexico's final rundown against World Cup giants began with an honourable loss against England in Wembley. Whether this match posed many responses from both sides of the Atlantic, all of them should be considered with a pinch of salt. Whereas in England certain aspects of the game were highlighted -such as Capello's pre-evaluations or Wembley's pitch state- there was a sense of either extreme complacency or sheer optimism.

The problem of the match was the casual manner of three of the four goals as well as the dominance and physical shape of the English team. Even with a depleted squad the England national team managed to poke three goals out of nothing whilst the Mexicans provided show, spectacle and promise. Despite Mexico's defeat there were some quarters of supporters that managed to underrate the performance, making some utter disappointing comments.

Previews in Mexico gave the visitors a rather optimistic view of the situation whereas in England sites such as Football 365 evaded football matter to be a little less than apologetic regarding the state of the pitch. Naturally the response after the game was a sort of praise for the in-form Mexico team and their lack of punch.

Zonal Marking made a particularly interesting piece on Mexico's tactics as well as well as overtly-friendly Soccernet's verdict. Next friendly will be at Germany against the Netherlands while the English will face Japan before their debut in Rustenburg.



Ledley King scores the opener.
[Photo: AP via Daily Mail]


The first fifteen minutes were among the best played in an International friendly for Aguirre's men: they enjoyed thorough possession, played quickly, fabricated several clear chances and found themselves pretty much in the physical edge. This was mainly because of the previously one hundred matches played by the Mexican team in U.S. soil for the last month or so.

The first of a series of runs against Green's goal was Juárez's in the 2nd minute followed by two Franco shots. Capello's worries were enhanced by the dismal attacking approach of his team. The Mexicans were on the prowl as they did not appear to share possession. And as if it were another custom-made script the Mexican team suffered from a set piece in which Ledley King score, after a header from Crouch. The corner kick was a needless fluke from Aguilar.

As the English attempts were closing to Mexico's goal, "Maza" Rodríguez had to make an imperious tackle preventing Rooney from an one-on-one chance. With the game closing in its final ten minutes, Mexican London players Giovani and Vela had an interesting counter attack, which Green saved. Salcido took a 20-meter howler that ended in the woodwork; Mexico's offensive prowess was due to the fact that England allowed to much possession as Capello usually does. In the following minutes another goal came from both the English and the Mexicans closed the gap with their own: Crouch took advantage of the horrid defending and scored with his hand in what appeared to be an offside sort-of "header." Then franco scored; the Hammer poked the ball past Baines' feet.



Johnson, after scoring a cracker.
[Photo: Andy Hooper via Daily Mail]


The following half saw a large array of substitutes appearing for both sides. That took the game in a different direction from what was shown in the first twenty minutes of the game. In the third minute Johnson took a beauty shot top corner as the Mexican defence let him run past three players. His effort was outstanding but the lack of pressure was another mistake to be given to Aguirre's team.

With the substitutions, the visitors were completely disorganised as they faced a quick deploy from Walcott and Rooney. Spaces left the Liverpool captain shot twice on goal, nearly scoring in the 69th minute. Barrera and Guardado's introduction made some tactical changes despite the defensive performance of the hosts. A couple of shots from the former as well as some dangerous runs provided that spark needed although it was not enough to see off some contention.