Mexico vs Colombia | Colombia comes from behind to defeat Mexico, who was unable to maintain its advantage and lost in 45 minutes.
Despite being the final international match between both teams before the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Mexico has a lot riding on this game because several players will have one last chance to persuade. Manager Gerardo Martino to include them in the final roster and will travel to Qatar in November.
Conversely, Colombia National Football Team failed to qualify for the World Cup this year, but they are beginning a new process under newly appointed head coach Nestor Lorenzo.
He is attempting to bring in young talent for the next CONMEBOL qualifiers. Therefore, each team has much to gain from this game, which takes place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Tuesday night.
There are hoped to be a celebration for the Mexico national team in their final game before the FIFA World Cup began, with Andrés Guardado marking his 177th international appearance.
El Tri’s high press paid off early in the game, with Alexis Vega scoring from the penalty spot in the sixth minute.
Mexico kept pushing & in the 29th minute, Gerardo Arteaga gave them the 2-0 lead. El Tri made a great play by threading the needle to find the left back inside the box, and Arteaga was able to beat goalkeeper David Ospina.
Mexico will go into the locker room with a commanding lead, but Colombia will have the last laugh.
Colombian head coach Néstor Lorenzo made three substitutions for the second 45 minutes, bringing in Santos Borré, Jorge Carrascal, and Jorge Sinisterra in place of James Rodrguez, Radamel Falcao, and Steven Alzate.
The young generation from ‘Los Cafeteros’ made an immediate impact and began to press high, forcing Mexican players to make mistakes.
Colombia’s comeback began in the 49th minute when Luis Sinisterra scored with a powerful header following a corner kick. Luis Sinisterra scored three minutes after a great cross from Rafael Santos Borré to tie the game early in the second half.
Colombia kept pushing, and Wilmar Barrios scored a stunning long-range goal in the 68th minute to give them a 3-2 victory.
Mexico had been unbeaten in their previous seven games before the start of the World Cup, and this is their first loss since 1994.
This was the year’s final international window, and El Tri’s manager, Gerardo Martino, has until November 14 to announce the final roster that will travel to Qatar in November. After that, he has a lot of work to do.
Colombia made an incredible comeback after three minutes of stoppage time to win the game. The final score was Colombia 3-2 Mexico, a tough defeat for El Tri before the start of the FIFA World Cup.
Mexico's Relationship with its Fans is Fraught
The reality is that Mexican fans are dissatisfied with the national team‘s performances over the last two years due to poor results in all competitions. The United States defeated El Tri in the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup finals in 2021, and they struggled to qualify for the World Cup earlier this year.
As a result, only 62,729 Mexican and Peruvian fans attended the Rose Bowl stadium as part of their send-off tour before the start of the World Cup on Saturday night, despite the venue’s seating capacity of 90,888. As a result, the People lack confidence that El Tri will advance past the group stage and have more doubts than certainty.