Mexico vs. Netherlands: Carlos Vela impresses in 3-2 El Tri win

Mexico were a lot of different things in their 3-2 win over the Netherlands Wednesday. They were entertaining, dangerous going forward and a bit of a mess all at the same time.

As great as the result was, they didn’t really look like a team. They looked like a work in progress, but they’re a very talented work in progress pulling off great results. At this point, that’s pretty good. They might even be ahead of schedule.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar missed a wide open goal from about a yard in the first half of the Netherlands’ 3-2 loss to Mexico. It was as shocking as it was embarrassing. It was so bad that his number wanted nothing to do with him.

Run, number! You don’t deserve this.

Mexico had the better of the early play and Vela capitalized, hitting an absolute stunner past Tim Krul from 25 yards to put his team on top early. Hector Herrera did brilliantly to win the ball, hold off multiple defenders and find Vela, who did the rest of the work at the end of a brilliant all-around goal.

The Netherlands thought they had an equalizer when the ball fell to Arjen Robben in front of goal in the 18th minute, but Adrian Aldrete did brilliantly to get down and make a block when the rest of Mexico’s defense was in shambles.

Daley Blind stepped up from his defensive midfield spot to take a rip, and it really wasn’t going anywhere at first. The ball was going in a straight line, from the center of the pitch, right at Guillermo Ochoa. Then it hit Diego Reyes in the shoulder.

Fans have been calling for Vela to return to the squad for years, and it seems like he might be what their attack’s been missing since their Gold Cup triumph.

Carlos Vela is the best Mexican footballer in the world, but he hasn’t played for Mexico for the last three years. He got the start against the Netherlands today, and this is what he did in the 8th minute. El Tri has their superstar in the team again. Welcome back, Carlos.

Carlos Vela is back for Mexico, and he’s been put right into the starting lineup by Miguel Herrera. He announced El Tri’s team a day before the match as always, and there have been no late changes. It looks like young FC Porto star Diego Reyes is going to get an opportunity to play in the sweeper spot, while Andres Guardado continues to play as a shuttling midfielder instead of as a wingback.

Key player - Hector Herrera (Mexico)

Key Question - Can Guus Hiddinik get his side rolling?