 | Mexico national football team: Encyclopedia II - Mexico national football team - Recent Play
Mexico national football team - Recent Play
The participation of the Mexican National Team in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, however, proved to the the world the tremendous power Mexico is capable of exerting on the global stage. After defeating the World Cup Champions Brazil in one of the most dramatic upset victories of the tournament by a score of 1-0, the world suddenly became aware of Mexico's potent capabilities on the pitch. Mexico's surprises would not end with Brazil, however, as Lavolpe's men showed no mercy to South American Superpower Argentina in the quarterfinals, holding them out all the way before losing the game in a highly-contested penalty shootout. Having conceded its chances of winning a second Confederations Cup, Mexico then focused all of its energies on third place. Once again, they surprised another Football Superpower, this time Germany, losing only in extra time by 3-4. Finishing fourth place in the Confederations Cup, Mexico proved to the world that although its players may not be as well known in Europe as they should be, they are definitely a force to be reckoned with.
In the 2005 Gold Cup tournament, however, Mexico did not fare as well, being eliminated by guests Colombia in the quarterfinal match, 2-1, after conceding a wild goal on a shot from over 100 feet with less than 15 minutes to play. The tournament ended with an American victory, and at present, the rivalry between the two sides shows no sign of cooling, with the USA having secured qualification for the 2006 World Cup by defeating Mexico 2-0 on September 3, 2005. Mexico, nonetheless, soon secured their place in Germany four days later when they defeated Panama 5-0 in Mexico City.
Heading to Germany in less than a year, Los Tricolores still remain haunted by the fact that they have not enjoyed much success in any of the 13 World Cups they have participated in, despite the fact that they have qualified more times than most Football Superpowers have. Their most successful runs came in 1970 and 1986, when they hosted both tournaments. Many observers blame Mexico's global luck on the footballing quality of the area, comparing it to the success of leagues in South America, and the lack of Mexican players abroad, but neither claim can explain Mexico's success in the Confederations Cup hosted by Germany in 2005.
Although Los Tricolores still have much to improve on before they can call themselves FIFA World Cup Champions, they can certainly take pride in their October 2, 2005 victory, when the under-17 national selection won their first-ever FIFA Championship by defeating Brazil 3-0 in the Peru 2005 Under-17 World Cup. An effective display of football saw Mexico claim the FIFA U-17 World Championship Peru 2005 with an emphatic 3-0 win over reigning champions Brazil.
Mexico national football team - 2006 World Cup
Mexico is one of seeded teams heading the groups for the final draw of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. This is the first time a CONCACAF nation, which is not hosting a World Cup, is seeded. Mexico joins Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Italy, Spain and host Germany. They are in group D with Iran, Angola and Portugal. There are rumours in the Spanish language dailies in the United States that Mexico will naturalize Argentine striker for Tigres UNAL Walter Gaitán so that he can play for Los Tricolores.
Mexico currently has a claim to possess the best league outside Europe. It can certainly boast more strength in depth than Brazil or Argentina. The reason is economic; oil prices are high relative to the 1990s and with it the Petrodollars. The South American clubs are exporters of talent. Mexico has the financial strength to import; quality players from Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Colombia and so on are enticed north by higher salaries, and the country can also attract foreign coaches even from Europe. Routinely Argentine and Brazilian players come to play in the Primera Division of Futbol Liga Mexicana.
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 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Recent Play", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
