Under the guidance of Sven Goran Eriksson, England progressed to the quarter-final stage in three successive tournaments, stretching from the 2002 World Cup held in South Korea and Japan through to the Berlin showpiece four years later. This model of consistency, albeit lacking the imposing gloss of a glorious semi-final, attracted the eyes of an “El Tri” tiresome of suffering second-round elimination from the previous four World Cup Finals.
For Mexico, stepping onto a South Africa-bound plane is ultimately the bare-minimum requirement of the World Cup campaign. Boasting the fifth most successful qualification record in the entire world – thirteen World Cup Finals, a figure eclipsed merely by Brazil, Germany, Italy and Argentina - has congealed the Mexican name within the World Cup’s heritage but comparisons to those four nations are abruptly ended due to the glaring omission of a Gold, Silver or even a Bronze medal.
Delve into the chronicles of CONCACAF and Mexico’s repute as the outstanding driving force of the North and Central America continent is abundantly apparent, but following on from the third series of international fixtures in the ‘Hexagonal’, Mexico are waking to the realisation that their hopes of instigating a memorable impact at South Africa are dwindling as the region’s forgotten nations close the gap. Falling at the hands of Honduras, 3-1, signalled the curtain falling on Eriksson’s short-lived tenure as they slumped to fourth in the six-strong table. With a squad tainted by retiring veterans, unfulfilled prodigies and on-field disarray and squirming four points beneath the group leaders, the pathway to the opening match at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium is certain to be beleaguered with more obstacles.
Problems had arisen far before the referee blew his first whistle. If the opportunity arose to demonstrate tranquillity and harmony within a squad then before a decisive clash would appear to be the most suitable occasion, but Nery Castillo’s mind contained differing ideas. His tirade and outburst at the national media, which involved an accusation that “In Mexico, they criticize about everything but football," as opposed to Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, expectedly, stole the pre-match headlines and served up the as the perfect preview for the aftermath that was beckoning. Carlos Pavon, who scored a hat-trick at Mexico’s expense seven years ago, supplemented his cumulative tally by netting after Carlos Costly struck twice, convicting Mexico to a devastating crush.
The USA have opened a noteworthy four-point lead at the top of the table ahead of their embittered rivals while Mexico’s disturbing away record continues to thorn the supporters’ aspirations. The structure of the final qualification group can act as a source of uplift as the first three countries gain an automatic entry seat, while the occupants of fourth-place must battle a South American equivalent in a fierce play-off. Failure to win any of their three away ties in the previous group, however, placed mounting pressure to claim maximum points at the Azteca, a situation which looks certain to persist and one that could cause suffocating pressure for all concerned. "This morning we said we had to take some measures because we could not take risks with qualification for the World Cup, and we could not rely solely on results at the Estadio Azteca,” explained Federation president Justino Compean.
"It has to be someone who knows Mexican football, who knows the Mexican players, the lives of the Mexican players”, Jared Borgetti’s forecast prior to Eriksson’s appointment materialised into a harrowing truth as, fast-forwarding to present day, Mexico threw their destiny into the hands of a predecessor, Javier Aguirre. The former Atletico Madrid manager has been recruited in the anticipation he will understand the pressures summoned with an underperforming nation, an image reminiscent of 2001 – the start of his first stint where he steered Mexico to stability by attaining qualification for the 2002 World Cup, overcoming Honduras in the apprehensive final fixture.
Eriksson's selection of four naturalised players, considered proficient improvements to their Mexican-born comparatives, fed more fuel to the fire caused by the critics, but was such a policy a frustrating gesture at the limited talent pool to operate within or pure ignorance and disrespect shown by the manager? Argentina-born Santos Laguna striker Matias Vuoso has in no way disrespected his ‘adopted’ country, twice firing in to aid Mexico’s pursuit of qualification and more headaches have originated from the work-ethic, teamwork and discipline of other suspects.
How Aguirre will conduct the nation’s best in a desperate bid to reverse the on-field trend before the fresh batch of taxing qualifiers remains in question, but he of all candidates has shown the wisdom and insight to lure a troubled country out of sunken depths. The countdown has begun in Mexico’s quest to appease the masses and to rescue international pride.
CONCACAF Qualifying Table For 2010 World Cup
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