There was a burst of applause and cheers in the community, and there were earth-shaking shouts in the nearby gymnasium, and I thought the weekend was coming. Every weekend, football matches are held in the stadium, and the enthusiasm is high. When I came to my senses, I realized that it was Mexico who led Saudi Arabia 2-0. Mexico had previously drawn 1 and lost 1, finishing bottom of the group, and today is a key match to qualify, both to win a big victory over Saudi Arabia and to depend on luck, and whether or not to qualify is related to the result of the match between Argentina and Poland.
President Lopez was confident that Mexico would qualify, predicting a 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia. According to Mexico's "Globe" newspaper, when inspecting the health work and the progress of the health plan in Veracruz State on November 29, local time, López said, "I can go on, but we have to go, I want to go to the football game." We will win 4-0. But also the day before the match, veteran Mexican sports journalist David Faitelson publicly expressed his disappointment with the Mexican team, saying that "Ertelli" would definitely return home early.
The nickname "Ertelli" originated in the 50s and evoked a sense of national identity among players and fans, but it is not exclusive to Mexico, Costa Rica and Ecuador are also called this title, which means "tricolor". It was not until 1984 that the Mexican team changed their socks to red in addition to the traditional green and white of their jerseys to become a true tricolor, and the national team nickname was defaulted to "Eltlí".
"It is possible that faith is there, but hope will eventually be dashed. IMHO, I am sure that the Mexican team will inevitably book a flight back to Mexico City in advance. "It's not about beating Saudi Arabia, it's not even whether you can score four goals, it's not the lucky result of Argentina and Poland combined." The problem is with Mexico, which has played very badly throughout the course of the last two years. This team is not playing football, no clear ideas, no goals, no goals, no spirit. He added.
"The players fought on the pitch, they gave themselves up and losing to Argentina hurt them, but they really didn't qualify for the last sixteen." Faitelson believes that the reality is that 'Eltelli' deserves a new coach in the next World Cup cycle and that Mexico can only go further if it is assumed that the dismissal of Gerardo Martino after the elimination of the Mexican team.
Martino, the Mexican manager, is an Argentine who has been in charge since 2019 and his contract with the Mexican Football Federation ends at the end of the year. Of course, if he can lead Mexico to the quarterfinals — and despite reaching the knockout stages of seven consecutive tournaments, "Ertelli" stops at the last sixteen each time — he may get a new four-year contract. Ahead of the Saudi team, Martino said he was optimistic about qualifying, but the situation was a little more complicated: "In addition to ourselves, we need goals from the Argentine side. But we are football people and we have an obligation to stand up and keep fighting. The 60-year-old Argentine said, "At this time, the goal is even more important. We have to win, but defense is not just a problem for defenders, so attack is not just a problem for strikers. ”
As David Faitelson predicted, Mexico failed to complete the task, and after a narrow 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia, they were unfortunately third in the group by a goal difference. Mexico, which has competed in 17 World Cups, last stopped in the group stage in 1978, when Mexico lost 3-1 to Poland. This time, Mexico did have the upper hand against Saudi Arabia, creating plenty of chances, but only scored two goals in the second and seventh minutes of the second half, after which two more goals were cancelled for offside. In the last 20 minutes of the game, Mexico and Poland were long in a state of equal points, goal difference, goals scores, and mutual records, but Mexico was at a disadvantage due to more yellow cards. In the final moments of the game, Saudi Arabia used a counterattack to pull back a city, but in fact, this goal has nothing to do with the big picture, as long as one more goal is scored, Mexico will qualify, but the North and Central American powerhouse has never been able to achieve this.
"At the final whistle, my contract expired. I am responsible for all our disappointment today. Failing to meet the terms of an automatic contract extension, Martino announced his departure after the game. The Mexican newspaper Globe also immediately put a headline on its website: "Martino bids farewell to the Mexican national team: "My contract has expired. Many Mexicans are looking forward to Martino's departure, and this sentiment exists even within the team. Some Mexican players publicly expressed their dissatisfaction with Martino after the match. Midfielder Chávez, who scored a wonderful free-kick in the final game, said the team was unhappy with Martino's tactical arrangements against Argentina: "We didn't understand what he wanted us to do, we defended well, but the attack didn't create a threat... We didn't do a lot of things in the first two games and we were a bit late to the reaction. ”
The Mexican newspaper El País commented that the responsibility does not only lie with Martino, who since 2019 did not know how to polish a Mexican team that is beginning to age, he for some reason put aside the "golden generation" of dos Santos, Bella and Hernández, but did not find a solution either. El País may have thought that Martino's firing should have been fired long ago, but in a euphemism. Some netizens even said bluntly, "The sweat he shed is not enough and is useless." The Mexican team has been terrible under his command, and the World Cup has become the price. "Angry scolding of Martino has become the consensus of the entire Mexican public opinion.
Mexico has a strong football atmosphere. When I first arrived in Mexico City, I happened to encounter a league team staying in the same hotel, and I witnessed the shocking scene of fans drumming and shouting in the neighborhood. The stadium near the community hosts multiple football matches every weekend, cheering and occasionally clashing. Before the start of this World Cup, Mexican national team jerseys began to be sold in various shops, and more and more "Eltlis" walked on the streets. Fans and nationals alike, hope they come out of the pain of defeat as soon as possible and usher in a stronger national team, after all, four years later, Mexico will be one of the three hosts of the World Cup.
(Mexico City, November 30)
Author: Sun Hua
Editor: Wu Yulun