This is not how the Rafa Marquez era was supposed to go.
A beloved figure in Mexico, Marquez always was going to get some grace when he took over as Mexico national team manager after the 2026 World Cup.
A 3-2 loss to Jamaica in the first leg of the teams' Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal series means that grace has run out.
If Marquez's first win doesn't come Tuesday, Nov. 17 when El Tri hosts Jamaica in Monterrey, Mexico will miss the Nations League Final Four for the first time. It also would need to win a series against a Concacaf minnow to assure a place at the Gold Cup, the continental championship. Mexico is reigning champion of both tournaments.
It's time to worry. Don't think so? Take it up with the coach himself.
"I’m worried about
all actions taken by the team. It’s not just one position," Marquez said when asked if he's concerned about a revolving door at right back. "We’ll try to work to improve in the next match."
The 47-year-old has spent his whole life in soccer and achieved more as a player than nearly any Mexican ever. So, he's well aware there are real problems.
Without injured forward Raul Jimenez, finishing has been a big issue for Mexico. So, too, are individual mistakes at the back, with Jesus Gallardo struggling on a night in which he scored an own goal and conceded a penalty. Mexico looked up in the 63rd minute and was down 3-0 to a Jamaica team that was starting to believe a first win over El Tri since 2017 was very possible.
"There were moments where we weren’t alert and you give the opponent life," Marquez said. "They got confident and started to develop their game more, with their fans.
"We’ll try to turn it around there. It’s a series, we’re a goal away from going through. The bitter pills, try to swallow them as quickly as possible and work to try in just a few days to fix the doubts and problems we had today to improve."
Beyond finishing or lapses in concentration at the back, the biggest concern for "El Kaiser" should be how different the team's performance looks when there are so few differences in the squad.
Just two players who started in Mexico's round of 16 loss to England at the 2026 World Cup, Jimenez and Jorge Sanchez at that pesky right back spot, were missing from Marquez's starting lineup against Jamaica.
Mexico fell behind but fought back in that match against England, and it was the same story in Kingston on Saturday night. Yet, it is not a team that looks cohesive, that felt that it truly had the belief it would avoid defeat.
Mexico has been in this situation before. El Tri fell to Honduras in the first leg of the 2023-24 Nations League quarterfinals and needed a stoppage-time goal from Edson Alvarez to push the match into a penalty shootout that they won. Honduras again enjoyed a 2-0 win in the 2024-25 tournament, only for Mexico to cruise 4-0 in the second leg.
There are a few bright spots, too, for Marquez beyond the fact that the team has turned these types of series around in the past. The response, with Mexico closing the gap from three goals to one and securing two important away goals, was critical to the chances of making another CNL Final Four. Gilberto Mora, who scored one of the goals, continues to be one of the only players to shine since Marquez took over.
¡Goooool de México! Apareció Gilberto Mora para poner el primer gol del tricolor pic.twitter.com/aRhaCIgwMU
— TUDN USA (@TUDNUSA) November 15, 2026
But there is much work to do, and not much time to do it in. If Mexico can't turn the series around, the Marquez era will come to an end much, much sooner than it was ever supposed to.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Time to worry about the Mexico national team? Rafa Marquez thinks so
