Mexico vs. Israel, 2014 World Cup friendlies: El Tri win 3-0, but the result wasn’t the story

Match Date/Time: 1 p.m. local, Noon ET

Venue: Arena das Dunas, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

With a weird team in place and Mexico trying to play through Blanco, they were unsurprisingly static in the first half. Blanco looked like the team’s best player, but that probably had a lot to do with the team being centered around him. The crowd erupted when he was taken off in the 38th minute, and from there the real preparation for the World Cup began.

Miguel Layun scored the first of his two goals just two minutes before halftime off a run in from the left wing. He was given too much space as he set himself up on his right foot, then took a rip at goal from 20 yards. Israel goalkeeper Ariel Harush got a hand on the ball, but couldn’t keep it out of the back of the net.

Yes, this is pretty poor defending and goalkeeping, but don’t dwell on that too much. That’s a great hit. As average of a defender as Layun is at the wingback spot, he’s worth starting because he does things like that.

Instead, Blanco got 38 minutes. And the 41-year-old was arguably El Tri’s best player in the time that he was on the pitch, even if he could barely run. The ovation he got at Estadio Azteca was well-earned.

This was a tribute match, so it’s unlikely we’ll see Blanco play for his national team again. But on the evidence of this performance, he’s still got it. It was pretty great to watch a World Cup team rely entirely on the skill and creativity of a 41-year-old.