The headlines were loud and clear prior to Copa America Centenario, Mexico was a favorite to take home the trophy.
How quickly things change in a matter of weeks. El Tri, comprised of a mixture of veteran leadership and young, very promising players entered Copa America with a vibe that they were a favorite along side Argentina, Colombia and Chile.
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During the friendly stages prior to the tournament head coach Juan Carlos Osorio looked to have things under control, the squad was riding high with more than 15 matches without a loss, and of course you were to expect to see some experimenting with the lineup, but many felt at least eight of the 11 players were the ones who would see maximum time in Copa America.
That wasn’t the case, Osorio’s undoing was the lack of consistency he showed by continuously changing personnel in and out from match to match. Despite some sputtering against Uruguay, many thought that would be the lineup of choice for the rest of the tournament.
His starting 11 looked like this versus Uruguay: Talavera, Marquez, Moreno, Araujo, Reyes, Guardado, Herrera, Corona, Layun, Hernandez, Aquino. These 11 gave Mexico the best chance to win, and while Osorio had plenty to choose from on the bench you had to create some consistency with these players.
Against Jamaica, Osorio decided it was time to change it up; (Bold denotes new players) Ochoa, Yasser Corona, Araujo, Moreno, Deunas, Marquez, Layun, Herrera, Hernandez, Corona, Jimenez. This lineup came on the heels of shifting the formation a bit as well.
Next up was a pivotal match against Venezuela with first place on the line. NRG Stadium was rocking and everyone was focused on a grand game from Mexico. Osorio proceeds to alter his lineup drastically; Jose Corona, Moreno, Reyes, Molina, Torres Nilo, Aguilar, Guardado, Herrera, Aquino, Lozano, Peralta. Osorio decided it was a chance to “rest” players, but as soon as Venezuela showed they weren’t going to lie down, it became obvious Mexico needed their lineup from the Uruguay game. A let down that almost cost them the group.
Then of course, as everyone is already aware of by now, Mexico was thrashed by Chile 7-0 as El Tri looked sluggish and playing as if they almost didn’t care. This was a battle of mentality rather than skill or tactics, Mexico clearly looked out of sorts, looked for fouls that weren’t there and seemed disorganized on the backline at times.
From a lineup stand point Osorio once again made drastic changes, although to his credit he did return with numerous first team players. A glaring issue was he put Jesus Deunas in the starting 11 when it should have been Rafa Marquez. Say what you want about Marquez’s age, but despite his slower pace, he is a leader and commands you listen to him on the field. Duenas, clearly didn’t have that pull with his teammates. The final nail in the coffin was selecting fan favorite Guillermo Ochoa as his starter. Ochoa has lacked minutes on his club team, while Corona and Talavera have clearly been much better.
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Does Mexico need a coaching change? The answer is no, another change would be a massive chemistry problem for the team. Next time we see them in action will be in the World Cup qualifiers in September. However, realistically it won’t be until the hexagonal round that we see if this team has learned anything.
Until then, the only consistent thing Osorio did was create chaos with the starting 11.