In Mexico’s final warm up before embarking on the CONCACAF Hex to try and qualify to Russia 2018, Juan Carlos Osorio sent a mixed bag of players to face New Zealand and Panama. Since every other confederation were playing World Cup Qualifting matches, there were little options in whom Mexico could face. Still, there was plenty to take away from the two matches.
Giovani Shows He’s Committed
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Mexico head coach, Juan Carlos Osorio, is anything but conventional. He rotates players, switches formations and is unpredictable to a point. What could have been the most shocking of all things over the two matches was the fact that Giovani Dos Santos captained both Mexico games. A Giovani Dos Santos who had yet to play under Osorio turned down a call-up for Mexico during last summer’s Copa America and had not featured for Mexico since the 2015 Gold Cup.
With all of that, JC Osorio saw something over the week of training that saw it fit for Giovani to wear the armbands. Even with veteran leaders like Jesus Corona in goal and Oribe Peralta, who both captained Mexico during the last two Olympic matches. Dos Santos responded and was Mexico’s best player of the two games. Scoring from the PK spot against New Zealand and assisting in another goal against Panama. It wasn’t only the goal and assist, he looked committed on both ends of the field, and while neither games were end to end stuff, his willingness to try and create were there to see. Heading into next month’s World Cup Qualifiers there’s a great chance to see him on the roster if he can avoid injury and a dip in form at the back end of the MLS season.
Osorio will not cave
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Over the last two matches, Osorio showed he is not going to change his philosophy in the way he does things regardless of the opinions of pundits in Mexico. He will continue to rotate players and try new formations. While the three in the back against New Zealand didn’t look strong, the four in the back against Panama looked more secure. Osorio is a man who goes over every detail and it would not be a surprise if he had Mexico’s games next month in hand when playing these friendlies. He didn’t give Jürgen Klinsmann and the USA much to take from either match in form of players or formation, and since he plays Panama again next month, he threw even less at them to see in person.
What Mexico lack in beauty, make up for it in results
In the four games Mexico has played since their 7-0 defeat to Chile in the Copa America, El Tri has won three and drawn one. They’ve scored six and allowed two while collecting two clean sheets. None of their games have been fluid, beautiful soccer, but during The Hex, that won’t matter. What matters are results, something Mexico failed time and time again the last cycle as they were on the brink of missing the 2014 World Cup. Playing pretty won’t be enough. Results will be enough. Osorio looks like a coach smart enough to know that grinding out ugly results in the heart of Central America will keep the Mexican media wolves at bay.
These friendlies were uninspiring and at times brutal to watch, but what do you expect when you’re playing one of these teams next month when it really matters, and the other you’re playing because you couldn’t find any other team? Yet Osorio was still able to get wins in both of those matches. Ugly? Yes. Next month ugly wins will still count as wins, and in the Hex that’s all that will matter.