On the morning of January 28, Beijing time, the 9th round of the North American Division of the World Preliminary Tournament staged a magical game. In the first half, Damien Lowe received a red card. In the second half, Daniel Johnson scored first, Henry Martin equalized in 82 minutes, Vega reversed the deadlock in 83 minutes, and Mexico narrowly beat Jamaica 2-1, ending a two-game losing streak in the World Cup and continuing to bite the United States.
Previously, Mexico lost successive defeats to the United States and Canada, resulting in a large loss of points and the loss of the position of the boss of the North American division, and the world ranking slipped to 14th. This game is facing the average strength of Jamaica, and Mexico is also playing very hard.
In first-half stoppage time, Damien Lowe stomped on his opponent's ankle, and after VAR verification, the referee showed him a red card, and Mexico gained an advantage of 11 goals and 10.
In the 50th minute, Jamaica, who played one less player, took the lead, Daniel Johnson grabbed the opponent not far from the siege, and the left-footed blast outside the box broke the goal, 1-0! With the view blocked, Mexican goalkeeper Ochoa didn't even have time to react before the ball went into the net.
One goal behind, Mexico went on a rampage, showing they had 75 percent possession and a 20-3 lead on goal, giving Jamaica any respite.
In the 82nd minute, Mexico finally looked forward to scoring, Vega received a header from the back post and was saved, followed by Henry Martin close-range into the net, Mexico equalized.
In the 83rd minute, Mexico continued to work hard, Carlos Rodriguez sent a cross from inside the penalty area, Vega volleyed with his left foot, and the opposing goalkeeper could not save! In just one minute, Mexico actually pulled two goals in a row, from lagging behind to leading.
This scene made the 59-year-old Martino go crazy and run wild on the sidelines to celebrate. As we all know, Martino once coached Barca, but he did not succeed, and led the team to a hasty end in 1 year. Since January 2019, he has officially taken over the coaching whip of the Mexican national team and has been leading the team for more than 3 years.
In the end, Mexico achieved a good show of a 2-1 kill reversal, avoiding the big cold. In addition, Mexico doubled Jamaica in two legs. Since 2013, Mexico has met Jamaica four times in the World Preliminary Round, with a record of 3 wins and 1 draw, and the last time they lost to their opponents was in 2008, when they lost 1-0.
The 2-1 game also changed the fate of both teams, with Mexico ending a two-game losing streak in the World Preliminaries to reach the second place in the table with 17 points, second only to the United States. Jamaica, on the other hand, went three consecutive rounds without a win, scoring only 7 points after 9 rounds, 7 points behind Panama in 4th place, and basically lost the qualification for promotion.
Jamaica, like the national football team, has only participated in the World Cup once, or the 1998 World Cup in France, which was 24 years ago.