Mexico vs Colombia

Mexico were looking to build some momentum heading into the World Cup in November but instead of a win, El Tri suffered a crushing loss, watching a 2-0 lead ...

27th min.: Colombia are now taking the game to Mexico and El Tri can break out in transition. Luis Diaz was trying to dribble out of his own box and Uriel Antuna stepped in front of the ball. James Rodriguez, Juan Cuadrado, and Radamel Falcao are back to lead the attack, and Luis Diaz does not get a break as had been rumored. Not to mention the work put in by right-back Kevin Alvarez (on Liverpool's Luis Diaz) and left-back Gerardo Arteaga (against Juan Cuadrado), with Arteaga making a key run for the second goal. Center-back Nestor Araujo dives in to block a Luis Diaz shot, but the Colombian follows through into Araujo's ankle and he's hurt. El Tri hasn't had the bulk of possession (62-38 for Colombia) and they're frankly more comfortable without the ball, operating on quick transitions. Uriel Antuna brings acceleration, Alexis Vega is the most creative player on the team, and Erick Gutierrez's vision and quality brought a lift to the midfield. Jorge Carrascal makes a run down the right side of the box and cuts a ball back which Luis Sinisterra hits past Ochoa. It was an avalanche of Colombian attacks in the second half and Mexico had no answer. He took a floated ball from teammate Rafael Santos Borre and sent it into the right side netting. The equalizer by Mexico was close. Mexico played its best half in recent memory, staking itself to a 2-0 halftime lead thanks to an early penalty converted by Alexis Vega, and a goal by left-back Gerardo Arteaga.

El Tri take on the South American heavyweights as they continue their preparation for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

An epic comeback from the Colombia national team stunned Mexico and they obtained the 3-2 win in the last game of the international window prior to the ...

There is a lot at stake for Mexico because several players will have one last opportunity to convince manager Gerardo Martino to include them in the final roster that will travel to Qatar in November. El Tri lost the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup finals against the United States in 2021 and struggled to secure their spot to Qatar during the World Cup qualifiers earlier this year. Prior to the friendly against Colombia he was asked about his future, but he replied that his focus is in the World Cup right now. Kevin Álvarez makes a great play down the right flank and gave the ball to Henry Martín. Mexico was undefeated in their last seven games prior to the start of a World Cup and this is their first defeat since 1994. The good news for Mexico is that Nestor Araujo seems to be fine and will continue playing, at least for now. As always moving the ball side-to-side and pressuring high looking for Mexico to make a mistake. What a great play from El Tri because Gutierrez threaded the needle to find the left back, following a beautiful screen from Alexis Vega, and Gerardo Arteaga finished like a striker. The ball is being changed freely now from wing to wing and they keep maintaining long possessions as they look for an opening. Colombia kept pushing and in the 68th minute Wilmar Barrios scored a stunner from range to give them the 3-2 win. Mexico will return to their locker room with a comfortable lead, but Colombia was going to have the last laugh. El Tri started strong with the high press and it paid off early in the game with Alexis Vega scoring from the penalty spot in the 6th minute.

Mexico played their best half in years against Colombia, but things fell apart quickly for a side that still have questions before the World Cup.

[Saudi Arabia](/soccer/team?id=655) (Nov. Alongside them up top, striker [Henry Martin](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/93184/Henry-Martín) worked flawlessly with the frontline. [Luis Sinisterra](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/235116/Luis-Sinisterra) in the 49th minute and 52nd minute. The last time Mexico lost a game in which it led by two goals was on Jan. Mexico coach Gerardo Martino on Colombia's talent: "There are moments in a match when the hierarchy and quality of the rival players will be shown on the pitch. In the midfield, Mexico also held strong and shut down a number of counters and crosses that Colombia tried to throw at them. Mexico continued their pressure going, with Vega creating a quick and clever play for [Gerardo Arteaga](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/245848/Gerardo-Arteaga), who scored to put Mexico up 2-0 by the 29th minute. As mentioned earlier, Martino's changes were questionable and ineffective, almost seeming to throw the kitchen sink onto the pitch instead of creating a more cohesive gameplan. They'll have two November friendlies -- against [Iraq](/soccer/team?id=4375) and [Sweden](/soccer/team?id=466) -- before their Group C opener against [Poland](/soccer/team?id=471) on Nov. [Highlights and notable moments](#highlights) Tactically outmaneuvered, it was one of the more dismal ends to a game for Martino. [Best/worst performers](#bestworst)

Colombia comes from behind and beats Mexico, which was unable to keep the lead and in forty-five minutes ended up losing.

I wouldn't say it, but you asked me and that is the selection of Mexico, the United States and Canada 2026 because in the pandemic the Olympics took a year and those guys were formed in the senior national team and that is a positive balance that I find. "What we always intend is for people to leave happy. "I deeply regret that Colombia with Reynaldo Rueda did not qualify, I would have really liked to see them in the World Cup.