El Tri’s first match of the year kicks off on Wednesday against Senegal. The match is not an international-FIFA-regulated friendly so there was no surprise that the roster for the upcoming match had no Europeans listed. What was surprising though was the long list of call-ups that are either not-so-well-known players or players that have played before such but will most likely not make it onto the team for Copa America this summer.

This is Osorio’s first match of the year but his third match as coach. He has not lost or drawn a match so far. His two World Cup Qualifiers against El Salvador and Honduras showed potential. But this friendly seems to take away from the progress that he had begun at the end of 2015.

The squad itself will not be judged or determined. There is no need to analyze leadership because Guardado will not be on the field. None of the attacking players playing Wednesday are Chicharito or Vela or Peralta. The debate about keepers is at most a minor discussion.

This game is not about the players at all. In retrospect, the score itself will not even matter. But the game is just another chance to judge and determine just what kind of coach Osorio wants to be.

He has already made bold statements by declaring that Gio or Ochoa are not at the level he wishes his players to be at and has been very open to welcoming all players, even naturalized ones, as eligible candidates for El Tri.

Osorio has only been with the team since October. He is not coming into the team with as impressive as a resume as some former coaches have. This year means big things for him as the manager.

On Wednesday, all eyes will really be on him.

The end of 2015 is no longer slowly upon us. Tomorrow ends this year and with it, all the great memories that El Tri has given us since the beginning of the year shows amazing promise for 2016.

Mexico has ended their 2015 career with 11 wins, 9 ties and 3 losses. A highly impressive year that at times seemed to challenge both the players and its many fans and followers.

It all started in March with an incredibly anticipated match against Ecuador at the Los Angeles Coliseum. It was with this 1-0 victory that Mexico was able to show that they were strong and as a team, they had a forward mindset about how they wanted to redeem themselves from the World Cup and for the lead up to the Gold Cup this past summer. It also allowed the Mexican National Team to realize just how big of a fandom they hail here in the United States, particularly in the city of Los Angeles.

The “Clasico” against the United States in April proved problematic, giving the US yet again the upper-hand in the quest to be the king of CONCACAF, ending in another “dos a cero” loss for El Tri. Questions soon arose about the Gold Cup.

The blip of the Copa America was given some consideration, but the very apparent “B” team of that tournament who was disqualified early only brought more expectation for the more experienced “A” team that would be appearing during the Gold Cup.

The lead up to the tournament was a mixture of tie and losses. Many did not believe they had to ability to win the tournament, if at all even advance to the final.

The Gold Cup was Mexico’s most significant and controversial tournament of the year in terms of game play, end results and most importantly, the strange aftermath that came afterwards. The 6-0 win against Cuba showed that Mexico was still able to dominant against smaller teams. They struggled against more competitive teams in CONCACAF like Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago but things for the team took a toll when they faced both Costa Rica and Panama in the advanced stages of the tournament. Both games gave the Mexico the wins through controversial penalties in added extra time, a coincidence that many in the media—particularly in Mexico--were very adamant to express disgust and remorse about.

But the final proved that Mexico was capable of better performances than they had showed the whole tournament, with a 3-1 victory against the favored team, Jamaica, that helped show the strong conviction that Andres Guardado had as a captain and the great capability that starting forwards had up top (Vela, Chicharito, Peralta) and the promise of Jesus “Tecatito” Corona only brought great possibilities for the younger generation.

Things got interesting for the team with the loss of coach, Miguel Herrera, after a very unusual and upsetting altercation with an Azteca TV journalist that resulted in violent attacks and Herrera’s eventual departure from the team. The upsetting part of this was purely off the pitch, for the Mexican side was proving to be a strong team and under Herrera’s direction, were able to create a blueprint that “Tuca” Ferretti was able to easily assimilate into when it came to leading the players.

Hector Herrera got his groove back during a friendly against Argentina and “Chicharito” Hernandez proved to still be able to finish when put in his desired position.

In a complete 180 and almost poetic turnaround for El Tri, October showed the strength the team now possessed. Ferretti’s final game as voluntary coach was an important one: the Confederation Cup playoff against the United States at the Rose Bowl. Again, the team was in Los Angeles and more importantly, they were facing their CONCACAF rivals. The atmosphere was intense and Mexico was determined get rid of the dreaded “dos a cero” chant US fans had become so happy to scream. But under Tuca’s direction and Guardado’s strong leadership, Mexico was able to get the 3-2 (“dos a tres”) victory and secure the ticket to the Confederation Cup in Russia.

Mexico ended the year with two World Cup Qualifying matches against El Salvador and Honduras, the game against Honduras showing an even brighter future for the youngsters with goals from both “Tecatito” and Jurgen Damm.

Mexico will start 2016 with a friendly against Senegal in February and considering 2015, this should not prove to be problematic the way Mexico has always been.

Guardado is proving his leadership outside of Mexico with great results in PSV. Layun, Hector Herrera and “Tecatito” have all shown impressive performances with Porto. Herrera being named the player of the year for the club shows him in a strong place once again. Chicharito, after a disappointing run when he return to Manchester United, has proved critics wrong after being sold to Bayer Leverkusen in August. He currently has 15 goals in his last 12 matches and 17 goals total in 20 matches, with an impressive hat trick earlier this month against Borussia Mönchengladbach. He’s been named player of the month for Bundesliga twice.

Couple that with rumors about Damm moving to Europe, the staggering popularity that Gio Dos Santos has had with the LA Galaxy, Raul Jimenez doing well with Benfica, Rafa’s move back to Atlas, and the positive direction Juan Carlos Osorio has the team going in, it is safe to say that Mexico will be taking 2016 by the horns. The only opponents that can bring them down are themselves.

The CONCACAF Cup game will take place Saturday night in Pasadena, Ca. and will decide who will claim a ticket to Russia for the Confederations Cup: the United States or Mexico.

Considering the two teams never met or faced each other during the Gold Cup this past summer, this match has lots of expectations. Both teams have had interesting journeys leading up to this game. The US failed to make the final during the Gold Cup and their last couple of friendlies against Peru and Brazil was not very strong for the American side.

El Tri,on the other hand, has been constant with their inconsistency. Their road to the Gold Cup final was full of controversy. Both their quarter final and semifinal games were won off penalties and although they showed their strength by beating the favorable Jamaica in the final, it still left many skeptics feeling the same. Top that off with their ties against both Trinidad & Tobago and Argentina (which also has them leading the games at certain points), an interim coach (and now, a new coach by the name of Juan Carlos Osorio) and to call Mexico the better team could be put up for debate.

But it shouldn’t. Mexico has a much stronger team when it comes to individuals. He might be injured but Gio Dos Santos has shown tremendous skill since he came to Los Angeles to play for LA Galaxy. Chicharito’s trade from Manchester United to Bayern Leverkusen has also seen the striker amp up his level of confidence, scoring goals and having more playing time than he had with his two previous teams. Carlos Vela has been somewhat flimsy with El Tri, missing more chances than he should in his position but the time he has been given with Real Sociedad should prove to give him more fitness and ability than we have seen in his last couple of matches.

Tecatito injured also creates a burden in the middle, leaving Jonathan to try to balance out going up the field with going back to defend more than he is used to (the same situation for Guardado on the side). Hector Herrera could prove to be helpful considering his playing has improved since the Gold Cup. Rafa is back as the leader of the defense after numerous reports stated he might not play at all. His confidence will help control the back against the likes of Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley and Gyasi Zardes up front.

Mexico also has plenty of solid bench players that should make an impact. The number of strikers they have for themselves (Chicharito, Vela, Jimenez, Peralta) is an advantage and if they live up to their potential, could lead to some positive results. Their midfield is left a little troubled without Tecatito but is still considerably strong with Aquino and Esquivel there to help.

As always, the real challenge Mexico faces in themselves. Defensively, it’s about errors. The Argentina friendly saw Munoz ruin his practically perfect game with a bad decision to come out and challenge a ball. Historically, the defense tends to make little mistakes that lead to unforgiving consequences.

Up top, just the opposite. The attacking side is too timid, oftentimes taking too long to score a goal (if at all). Bad touches and horrible finishing has left Mexico in a bad situation more times than anyone cares to admit.

The team might have a Gold Cup title on their side and in their favor, but they did not have a chance to show their strength against the United States during that tournament. And their last friendlies against the American side unfortunately have resulted in the “Dos a Cero” chants being shouted by fans.

This is the first official game in a while against the United States that is more than just bragging rights. It actually means something and matters more than the other games. The rivalry is always going to be there. But with the rise in soccer fans in the United States and the increasing momentum the game is getting, both teams must step up to the plate. Mexico just has more to bring to the table and should proudly show why they are the stronger team.

Mexico impressed but also fell short Tuesday night with a tie against Argentina in Arlington’s AT&T stadium. Though the stadium brought its own challenge with some of the worst grass I’ve ever seen professionals play on, most of the challenges for El Tri were self-fulfilling.

Here are five things that stood out:

1. Rafa Marquez is still the great savior of the defense.

My last comments about the defense for the Trinidad and Tobago stand true today. Only instead of getting figurative images of what Mexico looks like without Rafa, we got literal representation of the long-time veteran brings to the table for El Tri. There was assertiveness. Confidence. There was direction on how to play and when to play it. Couple that with Moises Munoz’s great performance for the majority of the game, and we saw great chemistry from the back line that did not have that much to worry about.

Jose “Gallito” Vaz quez helped out with that playing the defensive mid and helping the backline with whatever he could do. Then Tuca took both him and Rafa out within a matter of minutes and it all fell apart. In just ten minutes, Argentina managed to tie the game. It is likely Rafa will play the playoff against the United States but realistically speaking, there are not many years left in Rafa and Mexico needs to find someone to take his spot before 2018 comes around.

2.The starting keeper for Mexico is still up for debate.

Despite the unfortunate error by Munoz in the last minutes of the game, his performance throughout the match was very impressive; much more impressive than that of Talavera’s during the T&T friendly. He came out. He jumped to get the ball against forwards and defenders alike. He called for the ball. There was a great amount of confidence in him. The mistake that cost him the clean sheet can make his place as the starter debatable but considering Tuca most likely is not bringing Ochoa and his other option is Talavera, looks like the keeper for the playoff will be Munoz.

3. Mexico was the stronger team,

The last minutes of the game do not reflect the overall performance of the either team. Messi did not show up until his goal and the rest of the Argentine side looked clumsy for most of the game as well. The 2-2 draw left a bad taste but overall, Mexico was the better team. Rafa held the defense to a strong position, Herrera, Vazquez and Guardado did great playing in the midfield and the attacking front had plenty of chances to finish (even though they didn’t, the chances were there). Herrera’s goal put him in a better place following the last goal he made against T&T. Collectively, Mexico looked strong and it served them well for future matches.

4.Chicharito played better but making too many mistakes.

He scored the penalty that secured the lead for Mexico in the first half but that doesn’t take away from the amount of misses he had in both halves of the game. Chicharito has had a rough time of it from a club standpoint. His time at Real Madrid did not live up to expectation and he finally had a decent amount of playing time for Bayern Leverkusen not too long ago. But his recent stints for the Mexican squad have not been great performances. The match against Argentina was a recent example of what is going on with Chicharito. He had lots of talent and was able to be in the right spot, but he was not living up to his potential and missing more goals than he should be. The penalty kick saved him (and that is probably why he was so insistent on shooting it) but the rest of the game was not great from him. Too many mistakes and not enough result. It would be best not to have him start against the United States.

5. Tuca is unpredictable and the coaching position needs lots of work.

After seeing the line-up for the T&T match, Tuca’s methods were questionable. The line-up for the match against Argentina was much more expected considering their opponent and worked out well for the majority of the game. But as is the case with the Mexican side, the coaches oftentimes make changes at the worst times. Hector Herrera and Gallito Vazquez were taken out and Rafa was shortly injured afterward, leading to a complete deterioration of what was holding the team together. Perhaps it was just a ploy to let them rest but choices must be made wisely. The game was great as a definite confidence booster but the match ended in a tie in which the two goals from Argentina came in just ten minutes. Both the US and Mexico have a lot of work to do before their match-up but Mexico’s biggest problem could actually cost them the match: their defense. And considering Tuca is only coaching up until that game, that leaves the power of directing this dilemma in the hands of a silhouette man that has yet to be named.

It is a very dangerous place for Mexico to be in.

Mexico tied their newest "clasico" challenger, Trinidad & Tobago, in a friendly Friday evening in a 3-3 match. The match is part of Mexico’s preparation for the Confederations Cup playoff against the United States coming up in October.

The game was also the first game under the newest interim coach—Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti’s—wing. And the conclusion was very unconvincing.

Here are a few key points to take from this game:

1. There is no real leader in the back.

This might be a little unfair to put on Tuca’s plate considering its been a problem even when Piojo Herrera had the team. But it was shown even more against T&T. Ochoa was not called up for the friendly, “Maza” Rodriguez was reported injured earlier this week due to a knee injury and having Rafa Marquez on the bench was the perfect symbolism of what is going on with the Mexican defense. Ever since the departure of Rafa Marquez, there has not been a consistent or “true” leader for El Tri that commands the center position and takes control of the players in the back.

Talavera was luckluster during this match. Coming out too much when it was not the right time. Getting frustrated at his players, especially during that free kick that resulted in the third goal. Talavera was not the best choice. Mexico needs an assertive that will secure the defense is always on their toes and no mistakes can be made.

2. The players chosen for this game were not ideal.

Many already questioned Tuca’s choice for players when he announced he would not be bringing Ochoa, Jonathan Dos Santos or Gio Dos Santos (despite his great performance with Galaxy as of late). He made it clear that his style of playing had him drift to other players, preferably some from his club team, Tigres. But what started the match tonight was nothing short of confusing. Honestly, whenever the camera panned to the bench, one would think Tuca was living a Freaky Friday. Guardado, Chicharito, Jose Vasquez, and even Rafa Marquez were all sitting on the bench while players like Henry Martin, Dueñas, and Alanis were given starting positions and played a majority of the match.

The only time that things were really getting interesting was when substitutions were made such as when Raul Jimenez and Hector Herrera came in. Both subs also scored following their entrance into the game.

Martin suffered an injury and hopefully that inspires Tuca to realize that he needs to make better decisions when it comes to his line-up.

3. The confidence of the veterans needs to stay consistent.

Hector Herrera’s spectacular goal that led to Mexico’s third goal that secured them the draw is a perfect example of this. The Gold Cup was not friendly to Herrera and much of his playing time during that tournament was frankly, undeserved. But he came into this match and was more confident and secure in his style of playing. So much so that it led to him scoring. Couple that with Chicharito’s recent departure from Manchester United to Bayern Leverkusen where his debut match gave him over 70 minutes of playing time, it is important for the veteran players to continue to try to regain any confidence they might have lacked previously. Guardado is at the top of his game. Gio is as well (which is why it is so important he be given playing time with El Tri). It is always crucial to train the new generation but the generation currently taking shape with the team is still in its prime. Tuca shouldn’t let that go to waste.

In the end, Tuca’s experiment, whatever it was during this game was a very bad first impression. There were too many errors, not enough star quality and a definite ease to the T&T team that allowed those three goals. If he wants any chance of beating Argentina, (and really, trying to go into the Confederation Cup playoff with some sort of intimidation), he better start thinking up a new method to his madness.

President of the Mexican Soccer Federation, Decio de Maria, announced last Thursday evening that Tigres coach, Ricardo “Tuca” Ferreti, would take the role of interim coach for the upcoming four matches. This includes the Confederation Cup play game against the United States on October 10th in Pasadena.

The news comes as a great sigh of relief for many following the roller coaster ride of head coach hunting the Mexican Federation has embarked on since the firing of Miguel Herrera.

The problem is “Tuca” has only been assigned for a few matches. There have been plenty of names that have been thrown around since late July following Herrera’s termination. It has been nearly a month of chaos… and a very transparent look at how the Mexican Soccer Federation has handled deciding on a new coach.

There are multiple points to be made from this whole charade but the biggest one came exactly a few days before the “Tuca” announcement, when Ricardo LaVolpe threw his hat into the ring of potential new coaches. LaVolpe, as many will remember, was the head coach for El Tri from 2002 to 2006, leading them to the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

LaVolpe, an Argentinian-born head coach, had a pretty good record with El Tri, but unlike Herrera, was very picky when it came to choosing which players got to play and even approached coaching with a slightly less passionate style.

But hearing LaVolpe publicly state that he wanted a chance to coach the team again only shed light on the currently situation taking place for Mexican Soccer as a organization.

The players are great. The talent is there. Before Herrera’s unfortunate departure, there was a unity with the actual veteran team that had not been seen since the Olympic team that won the gold back in 2012. There still will be, within the players.

But having yet another coach leave (one, I might add, that was very close to his players) only to have another one come in that has been lackluster about even filling the position in the first place, one can only assume that desperation time is kicking in for the federation.

The only difference now is, who do they possibly have that can actually be great? And that people will be in favor for?

Herrera’s push towards the spotlight was the perfect situation. He was awarded the head coaching position shortly after winning the league with Club America. But that was just luck. The federation had shortly prior to that dealt with Javier Aguirre, Efrain Flores, Chepo De La Torre and Vucetich before finally landing on Herrera.

This time, there is no perfect timing. There is not any championship that was just one for them to use as their attraction towards a decision (Well, there was with Herrera winning the Gold Cup, but… I mean, airport issues…).

The desperation is getting to the point of no return. And it seems as though no one is good enough. The demands are too high and the necessity to be a leaf that goes with the flow is not something anyone who takes the position wants to be turned into.

Only time will tell who is brave enough (and assertive enough) to stay.

The Mexican National Soccer Team advanced to the semifinals in the very last minutes of extra time on Sunday against Costa Rica. Striker Oribe Peralta received a controversial penalty kick when Paul Aguilar centered a ball into the 18-yard box and Costa Rican defender Miller appeared to foul Peralta. The penalty kick was taken by Captain Andres Guardado and secured El Tri a ticket to Atlanta to face Panama.

The game was not as boring or as disappointing as the last matches against Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago but there were frustrating moments. A lack of finishing in the box and stalling with changes were just some of the crucial aspects to take from this game. Here’s what to expect for the match against Panama on Wednesday:

1. Jose “Tecatito” Coronoa deserves a starting position.

Carlos Vela and Oribe Peralta are great strikers. However, during the course of this tournament, they have lacked the real power to take on the defenders one and one and really attempt to be individual players when it is needed. They focused mainly on trying to find another teammate that is more open they are rather than try be a little more improvisation up front. There have been great goals from both against Cuba and Trinidad & Tobago but against Costa Rica, the flair was not quite there from either of them. When “Tecatito” came in, there was flair that has not been seen since Gio Dos Santos’ own beginnings at El Tri. There was a willingness to take on the challenge and try the absolute best to get the ball in the goal. There were more individual chances from the Mexican side once “Tecatito” went in compared to all their games combined. He at least deserves to start the game and see how he does the first half or at least be given more minutes during the game against Panama.

2. Andres Guardado is and deserves to be Captain.

Aside from Tecatito, Guardado was clearly the man of the match for this game. Whether it be from the inspiration that the newspaper scandal influenced, Guardado came out that day to play and play as best to his potential. And succeeded. His stamina never gave up and his agility to come back down and defend even when he had just finished taking on towards Costa Rica’s goal never stopped. Even despite playing the full 90 minutes, the extra time did not seem to phase him. He continued searching for the ball. His possession and passes were secure. It only seemed fit that he was allowed to take the penalty and as captain, secure his team’s chances of advancing. Great talent should only continue to shine from the Mexican midfielder.

3. Alanis replacing Corona is risky but must step up to the plate.

Yasser Corona went on Twitter shortly following the game to announce that his ruptured meniscus would leave him out for the remainder of the tournament. Mexican team officials shortly announced afterward that Oswaldo Alanis would be taking Corona’s spot. Panama has not shown considerable strong attacking from its strikers but they should not be underestimated and with Alanis’ lack of playing time, this could be problematic. Corona’s style of defending was a bit loose and at times, the pace he showed was not to the highest caliber resulting in a few too many fouls from his part. Alanis should try to avoid committing any fouls and should always be on his toes to not avoid getting outrun.

4. Ochoa’s confidence in the goal might be challenged.

Just like Alanis and the rest of the Mexican defense, Ochoa should not underestimate the ability of Panama’s striker. The history of the Trinidad & Tobago should prove that case. Prior to the Costa Rica game, Ochoa made the assertive statement that it was not the defense’s fault that Trinidad and Tobago was able to score four goals on them in such a short amount of time. He still has confidence on his defensive line and that is crucial going into this semifinal game. His talent has not quite been tested and to ensure not one ball slips by, he must continue having that confidence as well as directing his back players.

5. Herrera should trust his instinct and make changes when he sees problems.

One of the most central concerns about Mexico’s playing is Herrera’s reluctance to make changes when players begin to struggle on the field. The most notable has been Hector Herrera getting significant playing time despite the lack of actually result. His passes have been off and his physical conditioning has appeared off during a majority of this tournament. When he was finally taken out towards the end of the game against Costa Rica, there was a definite difference in the level of playing. The same when Vela was subbed out for “Tecatito.” Herrera claims the substitutions were technical decisions and rightfully so. But these technical decisions must be made sooner so that he does not prolong the lack of goals to continue for any longer.

The Mexican National Soccer Team joined forces Thursday after a Mexican Newspaper called Diario Rècord published an article stating that the players had a secret meeting behind manager Miguel Herrera’s back before departing to New Jersey for their upcoming match against Costa Rica. The article also stressed a very broken relationship between the coach and its veteran players, specifically Andres Guardado, Miguel Layun and Guillermo Ochoa. The underlying message of the article was that this stress was what was causing such horrible results from Mexico during this tournament to which many players, including those mentioned, took to their social media to quickly disprove.

Other players including Miguel Layun, Moises Munoz, Diego Reyes and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez helped trend #MientoComoRecord (I lie like Record does) and began to fabricate facts about their lives, essentially laughing at the publication for writing such lies about the team.

Following the response of the players, the official website for the team sent a statement out to its fans that indirectly mentioned the article:

Translated: “This team has remained united, strong and committed with the only objective being to lift the Gold Cup. This unity has remained throughout all the practices, moments, and plane rides day after day.

We are aware that the results of our past matches have not met with the expectations you have of us and we recognize we have failed in this circumstance. We know things have not turned out the way we want them to but we always give the best we can because as professionals, we are proud to wear the Mexico jersey.

[This Sunday], like we have for every game we have had, we will come out with the full intention to win and with that, obtain a pass to the semifinals and hopefully give you, our fans, the joy you deserve for always believing and supporting us.”

While there is much respect to be given to El Tri for showing outstanding unity, the performance on the field leaves much doubt.

Following their 6-0 victory against Cuba, the team struggled against Guatemala that resulted in a tie and then embarrassed themselves by going from a 2-0 lead against Trinidad & Tobago to a 4-4 tie. Even if the story is in fact fabricated, the intention to create hostility is not completely crazy, although a bit far-fetched.

I firmly believe that this is not Herrera’s coaching failing to deliver results. His transparency and willingness to admit faults and errors is what makes him one of the better coaches in my lifetime. As is the case with who actually took a stand and said something, the responsibility falls on the players. It is their sheer talent that is on the field. It is they who make the decisions at the end of the day when it comes to each match played. It is they who have decided to publicly project just how unified they are. In this case, the media failed with its intention.

The big players of the tournament (Ochoa, Jonathan Dos Santos, Layun, Guardado, etc…) have all publicly addressed that tomorrow they have two choices: ”ganar o ganar” (“win or win”)!

They have set the standard outside of the field. Let’s hope they can do as much talking on the field as well.

A tie.

Despite all the possession and great tactical moves, the best El Tri could do after 90 minutes was a scoreless draw against Guatemala. This was definitely a disappointment to say the least compared to the 6-0 victory many fans and skeptics witnessed just a few days before.

There was confidence exuberating from the Mexican side and the attacking went strong. But although the attacking side was still strong, the finishing from the players just was not there.

The Aztecs had a total of 32 shots on goal compared to Guatemala’s 3 shots and yet, there was nothing from this side. The game was definitely one-sided, with Guatemala taking a defensive strategy pretty much the whole game (probably trying to avoid dealing with a situation that Cuba did) and Mexico frustratingly trying to put one behind the net.

Which of course, created even more skepticism around the Mexican National Soccer Team. They are already guaranteed a spot in the next round; with a win having them face Panama. A tie or draw would have them face Costa Rica.

The next couple of games, including the one they are going into Wednesday afternoon against Trinidad and Tobago, will not be as easy nor as enjoyable as their game against Cuba was. That was made very clear against Guatemala.

Mexico cannot afford to lack confidence from the minute the whistle blows. They cannot spend the first couple of minutes trying to get comfortable. They have to score soon and effortlessly. That is the only way they will remain confident and not get frustrated with scoreless draw after scoreless draw.

The opposing teams are smart to pay attention to Mexico’s tactics. Guatemala played their defensive strategy and it worked well for them. Trinidad and Tobago has been playing very strong offensively their last two games but it would not be ignorant to image them switch up their style of play when they take on El Tri.

Herrera should stop putting so much blame on the refs (although he is not wrong to go up to them after the games to criticize their lack of cards given as well as clear penalties or free kicks rewarded) and should focus on trying to make more changes during the half if things are not going as planned.

We have yet to see the Dos Santos brothers really have a large amount of playing time together, which in my personal opinion, is a real loss so far in the tournament. Between Jonathan’s clear dominance in the middle and Gio’s great speed up top, the brothers would have a great set of chemistry that could produce some great results.

As of now, there has been no real danger to Mexico’s defensive side but that should not be taken lightly by Herrera either. There should be consistency and Maza Rodriguez must command his post now that Marquez is out of the picture. Not much has been seen from Guardado during the Guatemala game and Hector Herrera’s mistakes in the middle are starting to become a problem. That will have to seriously addressed if the team continues on (and most likely, they will).

The reluctance to pay attention to the beginning of the game instead of looking for an ending result is Mexico’s greatest fault. This cannot continue. It could cost them the tournament if it does.

Mexico asserted their position as a CONCACAF powerhouse with a commanding 6-0 victory against Cuba. A hat trick from Oribe Peralta and individual goals from Gio Dos Santos, Vela and Guardado helped ensure El Triis going to be fine without an injured Chicharito playing his usual striking position up top. But there are important things to note for the upcoming match the Aztecs will be playing against Guatemala on Sunday:

1. Jonathan Dos Santos deserves and should continue getting more playing time.

Jose “Gallito” Vazquez’s sudden injury during warm-ups before the game was a blessing in disguise. By shifting the middle around to have Jonathan in the center position, the young Villarreal player was able to show us just how advanced his skill of play has become. Every touch was made calmly and his passes were most often secured and completed. He took a few attempts on goal and his relaxed demeanor in the middle reminded some of a young Cuahtehmoc Blanco. His speed was used wisely in open spaces and with Guatemala being a bit more competitive than Cuba, his potential should be taken into consideration and he should be given at least a full half of playing time, if not, the whole game.

2. Mexico’s defense needs to be prepared for counter attacks.

The game against Cuba proved to be one-sided. Not much came from the Cuban strikers but that will most likely be the only chance Mexico has to let their defense relax in this group stage. Guatemala has never been at quite the same level Mexico is but whenever the two face each other, Guatemala comes out with a strong counter attack, able to have their players show up at the right place in the right time. Mexico’s defense will have to practice guarding a man at all times, especially as the tournament progresses in anticipation for facing the United States. Their friendlies leading up to the tournament showed that at times they are reluctant to pay attention to men without the ball that has cost them a few goals, particularly when they faced Costa Rica.

3. Avoid injuries at all cost.

As the game against Honduras proved, the level of physical competition increases whenever Mexico faces certain teams. The same could be said with Guatemala. If Mexico wishes to avoid any injuries from some of their crucial players, they will take into consideration the style of play that comes out of certain teams. This is even more accurate if Mexico starts off strong and scores a few goals early in the first half the way they did against Cuba. El Tri cannot afford to lose any more of its players.

4. A strong middle will secure everything.

Of the few times that Cuba actually got to El Tri’s side was a result of a lack of control in the middle. This was seen in both friendlies against Costa Rica and Honduras when Herrera was experimenting with a 4-4-2 formation. As the competition continues and the level of play increasing with each stage leading up to the final, Mexico will have to ensure that their middle players are strong and secure. Hector Herrera has a few bad passes during the game and although Rios is unlikely to take “Gallito’s” spot permanently during the tournament, subs and starters alike must avoid any mistakes down the middle. Layun places well on the side and Jonathan has proved he’s a strong contender in the center of the field. The middle needs to keep that up during the next couple of games.

5. Early goals will ensure confidence and assert Mexico’s dominance.

Mexico’s early goals during the game of Cuba not only gave them high hopes, but also shut down many critics that were weary of Mexico’s power and how effective it would be during the tournament. Granted, a victory against Cuba was expected but the confidence that the first goals instilled in the Aztecs also allowed for a style of play that we had not seen since the World Cup. It was calm, relaxed, tactical and intelligent. Frankly, the level of playing will not be that challenging if Mexico allows themselves to continue scoring goals and continues to assert their dominance through their confidence. If they continue on this way, their (somewhat) expected match-up against the United States in the possible Gold Cup final will prove to be challenging but very doable after practicing their skills in these preliminary matches.