The last action Mexico took on a soccer pitch was to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup, thumping Jamaica to take a title almost no one expected them to win heading into the tournament. It was a triumphant moment for El Tri after a year of struggle that had carried into a horrid Copa America performance and a slow start to the Gold Cup, but a timely improvement was just what they needed to put recent disappointments out of mind.
Mexico vs. Trinidad & Tobago 2015: Time, TV schedule and team news
It’s a new era of Mexican football, and they need to get off to a strong start against Trinidad and Tobago, because there are big things on the horizon.
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The next morning, everything changed again. Manager Miguel Herrera attacked a journalist at the airport. Not long after, he was fired by the Mexican Football Federation. With a vital Confederations Cup qualifying playoff against the United States looming in October, Mexico need to get things turned around fast in order to secure a place in the preview tournament for the World Cup while facing their most bitter rival.
Enter Trinidad and Tobago, who enjoyed a stronger-than-expected performance of their own in the Gold Cup, reaching the quarterfinals before falling to Panama on penalties. They’re quick, aggressive and fun, and that could be a recipe for potential disaster for a reeling Mexico side trying to regroup.
What’s new and what’s at stake
Well, their manager for one. Ricardo Ferretti is the “interim” manager for Mexico, but everything from now until after El Tri’s Confederations Cup qualifying battle with the USMNT is essentially an audition to earn the job full-time. Ferretti had UANL Tigres playing like a fine-tuned machine, coming close to being the first team from Mexico to win the Copa Libertadores and generally playing solid, exciting football.
His style will be a bit of a shift from what Mexico have gotten used to playing under Herrera, but if they can adapt quickly to what Ferretti wants from his team, the squad is well suited for it. He plays a sharp and incisive brand of soccer, pressing hard and looking to not just exploit imbalances in an opposing team, but also to create them with clever combinations of ball and player movement. Given some of the players making up Mexico’s core and the upper reaches of their player pool, that’s a style that could see them return to dominance -- if Ferretti gets them playing well enough fast enough to keep the job.
That’s why, even though this match is only a friendly, Mexico need to get off to a fast start. This could be the dawn of a great era for El Tri, but a loss in this match or a poor performance that Mexico struggle to build on could kill that era before it’s even had a chance to breathe.
Key Player: Javier Hernandez (Mexico)
Chicharito is coming off a rough spell in his career. Two years ago, he struggled at Manchester United. Last season, he struggled with Real Madrid. He’s had issues with injuries, and has been inconsistent with the national team. Things have not all been okay for one of Mexico’s favorite sons.
Now, though, things might be turning to a new and brighter page for Hernandez. He’s with a new team now in Bayer Leverkusen, one that fits him like a glove. At least on paper, Ferretti’s new style for Mexico is one that suits him just as well. We might just be entering the Age of the Pea, starting tonight. If Chicharito has a strong performance today, which looks like a strong possibility, Trinidad and Tobago might as well pack it up and go home.
Match Date/Time: Friday, 10:00 p.m. ET, 8:00 p.m. local
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
TV: UniMas, Univision Deportes (U.S. -- Spanish)
Online: ESPN3, WatchESPN (U.S.)
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