After a dominating performance in Toluca, Mexico has qualified for the Concacaf W Championship taking place in November. This tournament will decide which four teams will automatically qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and Mexico is hopeful they will be one of those four after an eight year absence.
It was a rainy evening but that did not slow down Mexico from reaching their objective. While this tournament had yet to provide big challenges for the team, Pedro Lopez knew he could not let his guard
down with Puerto Rico and put forward a strong lineup.
The moment the whistle blew Mexico started pressing the Puerto Rico defense and had multiple chances to score early on. Maria Sanchez, Kiana Palacios and Scarlet Camberos each had a pair of occasions to score but they missed all of their chances. It wasn’t until the 10th minute when Alexia Delgado opened the score with a goal right inside the box. Alice Soto sent a cross into the box, which goalkeeper Sydney Martinez punched away but the rebound landed at the feet of Delgado who shot the ball right into the back of the net with the first of the night.
Minutes later it seemed as if Mexico doubled their lead after Kiana Palacios got the ball into the back of the net but it was called back due to an offside position even before Palacios got on the end of the ball. The next 15 minutes were spent with Mexico struggling to finish their chances in the area and Puerto Rico struggling to make it past the halfway point up the field. It wasn’t for lack of trying but their offense was getting shut down any time they would make their way down the field. Then their defense would try to hold off Mexico’s offense but there was only so much they could do. It was in the 32nd minute when the second goal came. From the right side a cross went into the box where defender Estefania Gonzalez attempted to head the ball of danger but instead she directed the ball into the back of her own teams’ net. It then didn’t take long for Mexico’s next goal to come as Scarlett Camberos netted the third one. A long ball was delivered into the area where Camberos was able to beat her mark and direct the ball into the back of the net. The midfield and defense had attempted long balls into the area but no one was able to capitalize on it until Camberos did to go up 3-0.
With the start of the second half there was still a chance for Puerto Rico to make a comeback but they were going to have to play perfect in order to do so. That plan fell minutes later when Palacios finally got her goal she was looking for. The fourth of the night came from another Puerto Rico defense mistake. Caitlin Cosme sent the ball back to her goalkeeper but it was a weak pass that the goalkeeper did not know was coming her way and by the time Martinez made a dive for it, it was too late as Palacios got to the ball first and just like that Mexico was up 4-0.
Minutes after the fourth goal Charlyn Corral was subbed onto the game and it didn’t take her long to make her presence known. Actually, it only took her two minutes to find the back of the net. Once again Soto made her way up the right side of the field where she sent the ball into the area where Corral was there to kick it in for the fifth goal of the night for Mexico.
The night then went from bad to worse for Puerto Rico. In the 72nd minute defender Amber Diorio received her second yellow of the game after a bad tackle on Camberos. This foul was not necessary and it was a bad decision on Diorio’s part especially since she was already sitting on a yellow card, which then left her team with 10 players for the remainder of the game. Even though they were down by five goals, Puerto Rico continued to push forward towards Mexico’s goal but they had no luck breaking down their defense. Their own defense was struggling in their own area since they were down a player. This disadvantage led to Mexico’s sixth and final goal. Stephany Corral made her way into the box where she sent the ball to an unmarked Corral who was able to shoot the ball into the back of the net despite three Puerto Rico players surrounding her.
Mexico was able to defeat Puerto Rico and by doing so they qualified for the Concacaf W Championship. They will join the United States, Canada (both had already qualified for the tournament due to FIFA rankings), Jamaica, Costa Rica, Haiti, Panama and El Salvador. Mexico will have a big challenge ahead of themselves as they attempt to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil after they failed to qualify the last two tournaments. This team has the talent to qualify and a lot will be riding on their shoulders come November 2026.
