Team Mexico, coach Jaime Lozano face Panama in Nations League test
El Tri must get past Central Americans to set up grudge match in final against Team USA
El Tri manager Jimmy Lozano will be under the microscope tonight when Mexico takes on Panama in a must-win Concacaf Nations League semifinal. The real test would actually come in Sunday’s final where a Mexico-USA clash is expected.
The hated Yanks are the two-time defending Nations League champs and Lozano knows another loss to their bitter rivals could be hazardous to his longevity.
But first, El Tri must dispatch Panama, a squad that has defeated Mexico just twice in 26 previous contests as Team Azteca enjoys a favorable 18-6-2 advantage with a 46-15 goal differential.
Los Canaleros have proven to be a tough out in recent matches, El Tri defeating Panama 1-0 in the 2023 Gold Cup final and by the same minimal difference in the Concacaf Nations League third-place match earlier that same summer.
Media critiques El Tri player selection
The Mexico squad has been in Dallas since Monday prepping for tonight’s game at AT&T Stadium, aka Jerry World. As is par for the course with the Mexican soccer media, Jimmy was criticized for the roster he selected.
Then again, a mediocre 2-3-2 record in the past seven matches merits some criticism. Many pundits have argued that conservative roster selection is a major factor and a projected starting line-up that includes Jesús Gallardo at left back and leaves out winger Julián Quiñones will fire up the peanut gallery further.
Gallardo – a staple on the left side of the defense – has been a lightning rod for criticism due to a lack of productivity (some wags would say his career has been in decline since 2018) even as the younger Gerardo Arteaga has been in fine form. In fact, Arteaga has displaced Gallardo at left back for Monterrey, the latter now playing as a left wing for the Rayados.
Up front, Hirving Lozano is expected to get the start though he is not a full-time starter at PSV Eindhoven where he has 5 goals in 27 appearances whereas Quiñones has 18 goals in 39 games while also helping América win the Liga MX title in December.
Lozano addressed the criticism of his selections last week: “I believe those we’ve selected are the ones who ought to be here,” he said. “We have chosen players we know well, players who are in form with their club teams.”
An oft-repeated complaint has been Lozano's inclination to continue using veteran players whose poor performance led to the firing of Jimmy's successor as well as several holdovers from the disappointing 2022 World Cup squad.
The 45-year-old manager was hastily installed as interim manager after Team USA routed El Tri 3-0 in last year's Nations League semifinal. That loss prompted the firing of Diego Cocca after only four months in charge.
Lozano's first game at the helm was the abovementioned 1-0 victory over Panama on June 18 and he was given the permanent job after edging those same Central Americans in the Gold Cup final a month later. But since then – and with minimal roster turnover – El Tri has stuttered while conceding 12 goals in seven matches, winning just three times.
manual
Although some pundits have suggested that Lozano could lose his job if El Tri fails to win the Nations League tournament, others insist the Mexican Soccer Federation will not take any action until after this summer's Copa America.