Mexico was able to pull out a win against Australia in their second-to-last sendoff game before the start of the World Cup. The game was a tale of two halves as Mexico controlled the game in the first half while Australia controlled the second half. Now Mexico must make some adjustments as they only have one friendly left before the start of the World Cup.
While the stadium was not full at kick-off thanks to long lines at the gates, Mexico was still off to a hot start. It only took 15 seconds for
Australia to commit a foul outside of the box as Orbelin Pineda was taken down. Luis Chavez sent the ball into the box where it bounced around until it made its way back to his feet where the player sent it towards the net but it deflected out for a corner. Nothing came of the corner. This game was Chavez’s last chance to make the World Cup roster after returning from an ACL injury. He knew just how important it was to make his case to be called-up by Javier Aguirre. Australia had their first chance at goal in the sixth minute when they started an attack on the left wing and ended with the ball safely in Raul Rangel’s hands. Their next biggest threat didn’t come until 10 minutes later thanks to a free kick outside the box. Aiden O’Neill sent the ball into the box where it ended at the feet of Jackson Irvine who sent it towards goal but it just went wide of the post. After this chance the game calmed down. Both sides got comfortable and were feeling each other out. Mexico still had the upper hand but were not as relentless as they were the first minutes of the game. After a few minutes of some back and forth Australia got things moving on their end with a counter attack after Mexico was unable to score on a corner. Mathew Leckie was able to get the ball and made his way up the left side where he was able to get in behind Mexico’s defense. At that moment Johan Vasquez was able to track back and get the ball back for his side before Leckie could do any damage. Not only did Vasquez make some critical saves for his team, but he also pulled through up top as well. Right before the 30th minute Mexico was awarded a corner that Alexis Vega stepped up to take. The ball made its way to Vasquez’s head where he got it past Mathew Ryan’s hands and into the back of the net to open the score at the Rose Bowl.
After the goal Mexico continued to press for a second. Alvaro Fidalgo even tried from a distance that Ryan had to stretch his hands out in order to stop from going in. Up to this point Fidalgo hadn’t made a big splash in the midfield like he normally does. This could have been from the fact that he was rusty due to dwindling minutes with Real Betis. Upon his arrival the midfielder saw tons of minutes but then they became few. Even with inconsistent time on the field, Fidalgo is a big threat when he does hit the field. Right before the first half ended Australia were close to an equalizer after a Mexico mistake in the backline. Luis Chavez had been performing well up to that point but he miscleared a ball that he headed to Mohammed Touré instead. Touré then kicked the ball towards goal but it went just wide. Mexico was lucky that the striker was unable to put away Australia’s biggest chance at goal.
To start the second half Javier Aguirre decided to make some substitutions. The biggest change was bringing in Guillermo Ochoa for Rangel. Ochoa has not seen action with Mexico since 2024 and is looking towards making his sixth World Cup appearance. The moment he took the field Mexican fans cheered for him and Edson Alvarez took off the captain’s armband and gave it to Ochoa. This substitution was not foreseen by anyone and it could have been a simple plan to allow the veteran to receive some minutes he won’t get in the summer tournament or maybe it’s Aguirre’s way of hinting at what is to come during the World Cup. Not only was Ochoa subbed on but so was Israel Reyes, Cesar Huerta and Santiago Gimenez.
While Mexico was the one who started the first half with their foot on the pedal this time it was Australia’s turn. They had back-to-back chances at goal but Ochoa stopped both of them with incredible saves. These saves reminded fans how the goalkeeper always seems to become unstoppable during the World Cup. It’s as if he saves himself for the tournament and becomes ‘Prime Ochoa.’ Last night’s game was no different. By the 60th minute it was evident that Australia was the most dangerous of the two teams. Mexico would make their way to the midfield but then lose the ball as Australia would steal it and start a counter attack the defense had to pull themselves out of. Due to the decline of the team, Aguirre made some changes to the team hoping to restart the offense as he put in Gilberto Mora, Julian Quiñones, Cesar Montes and Jesus Gallardo. These changes didn’t seem to spark anything. The individual players had bright moments but as a team they were unable to connect. The disconnect led to a dangerous threat by Australia after Leckie was left wide open which allowed him to receive a pass inside the box which left Ochoa with no choice but to come out to stop the attack by sliding in and kicking the ball away. In the first half the Mexican defense didn’t make mistakes like that compared to the second half. Since Mexico was having a hard time making their way forward, they had to rely on set-pieces to have a chance. That came through in the 75th minute when Mexico received a free-kick outside the area. Gimenez attempted to start the play immediately and since the visitors weren’t expecting a fast restart they weren’t prepared and made a mistake by kicking the ball into their own net. The goal only stood for a moment as the central referee called the goal back since he didn’t allow the kick to be taken yet. Once the referee allowed the kick to be taken nothing came out of it as the ball went out of play. Minutes later it looked as if Mexico were going to generate an attack when Mora got his feet on the ball and started to create a play with the help of his teammates but the play was stopped when the youngster found himself offside. Minutes later the visitors found themselves with a chance to equalize thanks to a defensive error. Once again the Mexican defense left Leckie wide open right outside the box. This allowed his teammate to give him the ball and the midfielder made his way into the box which forced Ochoa to come out again in order to stop the player. Thankfully for him, Leckie didn’t shoot the ball immediately and that gave the goalkeeper time to slide and get a hold of it. If it weren’t for Ochoa and his saves, the scoreline could have been a lot different. The rest of the game went by without much incident as Mexico was able to protect the ball and the result. It was a win but one that the team really had to push through at the end. Their substitutions did not have the desired effect and Aguirre and his staff will need to make adjustments with only one last friendly to be played before the World Cup starts June 11th.
