MEXICO CITY (appro).- The Mexican soccer team had a disastrous night against the United States: they lost by beating, two players were expelled, they filed lawsuits and, as if that were not enough, the homophobic cry was heard.
With two goals from Christian Pulisic and one from Ricardo Pepi, the US side thrashed the Mexican 3-0 and advanced to the final of the League of Nations, where they will face Canada, who previously beat Panama. El Tri has not beaten the North American team since 2019.
The national team had no reaction during the 90 minutes of play and showed very few dangerous plays. During the first 45 minutes, they did not have a single shot at the rival goal.
At minute 20, Christian Pulisic missed a clear goal play for his team. The Chelsea forward stole the ball at midfield, spilled down the left flank, took the Mexican defense and finally sent the ball over the goal.
Minutes later, on the 26th, Pulisic warned once again with a weak free-kick shot that did no harm.
The United States took possession of the ball, and at 37 came the first goal of the game. The US number 10 took advantage of a serious mistake by Jorge Sánchez, launched a cross shot and left Guillermo Ochoa without a chance. They already won 1-0.
Already in the complementary part, Mexico fell asleep and the locals increased their advantage with a dressing goal at 46. Once again Pulisic beat the Mexican defense and finished off practically only in the small area.
Diego Cocca sent changes in the search for his team to react, but the entry of Santiago Giménez was not noticeable in the game, and at 69, César Montes was sent off for a strong tackle against Folarin Balogun, which sparked the first fight between the two squads. Weston McKennie also saw a red card.
The only dangerous play that Mexico generated was from Uriel Antuna’s boots, the Cruz Azul man was seen in front of the rival goal and sent a deflected shot. Finally, the play was annulled due to an advanced position.
Six minutes later, Ricardo Pepi sealed the score 3-0 with a shot from his left foot.
At 86, another rude move caused a second lawsuit that led to the expulsion of Gerardo Arteaga and Sergiño Dest.
As if that were not long, in the final stretch of the game, the fans began to chant the homophobic cry on several occasions, for which the referee activated the anti-discrimination protocol, the game lasted until minute 90+12.
Now, El Tri will have to play the game for third place next Sunday against Panama at 4:00 p.m.
Alignment: Guillermo Ochoa, Israel Reyes, César Montes, Víctor Guzmán, Jorge Sánchez, Uriel Antuna, Luis Chávez, Edson Álvarez, Jesús Gallardo, Orbelín Pineda and Henry Martín.
Changes: Ozziel Herrera for Jesús Gallardo, Santiago Giménez for Henry Martín, Sebastián Córdova for Orbelín Pineda and Gerardo Arteaga for Uriel Antuna.
Expelled: César Montes at 69 and Gerardo Arteaga at 86.
