Mexico ended their September/October FIFA tour with a disastrous 2-0 loss against Chile. Mexico went from best to worst in the first four matches under Coach Rafael Marquez, which started with good ties against Colombia and Peru and two losses against the United States and Chile, the two rivals they shouldn’t lose to because of their rivalry. Marquez will now be in trouble with the fans who will feel worried after the team went on such lackluster performances after having such a great run earlier
in the year and in the 2026 World Cup under Coach Javier Aguirre. Mexico will return to action in November where they will face off against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals in a home and away series.
The 1st half started with Mexico once again making a number of moves, including giving their first start to goalkeeper Alex Padilla. Maximiliano Gutierrez would get off a lobbed shot that Padilla easily handled. A great left footed shot by Jesus Gallardo from outside the area forced a great save from Chile’s goalkeeper, Lawrence Vigouroux. Gonzalo Tapia got into the area and got past Erik Lira before getting off a shot that forced a save from Padilla. After getting the ball outside the area, Obed Vargas got off a right footed shot that went well wide. A cross into the area was just out of reach of Gallardo. Gutierrez got past Dagoberto Espinoza and got off a right footed shot that went wide. Roberto Alvarado got off a good left footed shot from outisde the area that forced a great save from Vigouroux. In the ensuing corner kick, the cross would eventually fall to Espinoza, whose right footed shot in the area went well wide. A pass into the area found Armando Gonzalez, who got past Vigoroux but had the ball go wide and he would have been offside had he scored. A cross into the area found a wide open Armando Gonzalez but he headed it well wide in a bad miss. The halftime whistle blew and although Mexico had been the better team, the score remained scoreless and they didn’t create as much danger for all their possession.
The 2nd half started with Chile subbing out Rodrigo Echeverria for Victor Mendez. Off a set piece, Gabriel Suazo got off a left footed shot that went wide. Vargas got off a right footed shot that forced a good save by Vigouroux. The ball fell to Fidalgo, whose right footed shot was cleared by defender Paulo Diaz. Off a free kick, Alvarado got off a cross into the area where a wide open Everardo Lopez would head the ball wide from close range in a bad miss. After losing the ball and allowing a counter, Maximiliano Gutierrez got into the area and got off a low shot that went thru the legs of Padilla and into the net to score and give Chile the surprising 1-0 lead. Off a longball, Gonzalo Tapia would get to the area but his left footed shot was saved by Padilla. Mexico subbed out Jesus Gallardo, Dagoberto Espinoza, Erik Lira, Armando Gonzalez and Roberto Alvarado for Johan Vasquez, Denzell Garcia, Santiago Gimenez and Isaias Violante. The number of changes affected Mexico, who immediately got confused with the ball and Garcia gifted the ball which ended with Vicente Pizarro getting into the area and getting off a left footed shot past Padilla and into the net to score and giving Chile the 2-0 lead. Mexico subbed out German Berterame and Obed Vargas for Santiago Sandoval and Hugo Camberos. Off a free kick, Lopez looked to have punched a Chilean defender, who fell on the floor and stopped play. Chile subbed out Maximiliano Gutierrez for Cesar Perez. Violante got off a left footed shot that went well wide. Mexico subbed out Alvaro Fidalgo for Jeremy Marquez. Gimenez got off a left footed shot from outside the area that went wide. Chile subbed out Dario Osorio and Vicente Pizarro for Bret Brereton and Matias Sepulveda. Off a counter, Brereton got into the area and got off a left footed shot that went wide. Chile subbed out Gabriel Suazo and Gonzalo Tapia for Igor Lichnovsky and Lucas Cepeda. The match ended and Mexico added another loss against a rival they couldn’t lose to.
Rafael Marquez’s tenure in the National team started well with a tie against Colombia, with a great performance in which they deserved a victory more than the CONMEBOL side. They lowered their level against Peru in a match where they made a number of changes. But the second part of the FIFA friendly dates was a disaster. Losing to the United States by a 3-0 score, in a match where every goal came off a horrendous mistake, was a huge hit to the team. On Tuesday they made a lot less changes and although they played well in the 1st half, they were awful in the 2nd. Worse yet, the hit to the team was huge after the first goal and the team, including the coaching staff, had a lot of trouble in getting back to the game. The number of substitutions in the 2nd half ended up costing Mexico the 2nd goal, and the team couldn’t recover from it. Mexico will now have a huge boulder of pressure on their back when they face off against Jamaica in the Nations League. While the Caribbean side is inferior to the teams they faced in these friendlies, they are official matches and the away match will be played in Kingston. Mexico will have their work cut out for them as they need results or the Marquez era might not last long.
