Without its coach Gerardo Martino, and with the absence of several of its starters, Mexico will try to string together triumphs when it visits Costa Rica on Sunday to stay in first place in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers heading to Qatar 2022.
The “Tata” Martino underwent surgery on the eve of a retinal detachment and the Argentine will miss not only the game against the Ticos, but also the visit to Panama next Wednesday. His assistant Jorge Theiler will direct both engagements.
Mexico required a goal on the hour to beat Jamaica 2-1 last Thursday.
With that victory, the Mexicans became leaders of the octagonal tournament that distributes three direct tickets to the next World Cup and one more to the international playoffs.
“The knockout matches are complex and they all suffer, beyond the goal at the end we have won it well,” said Martino. “We took a good step at the beginning of the tie to regain confidence.”
El Tri entered the tie with upset confidence after losing the Nations League and Gold Cup finals, both against the United States.
The victory against Jamaica served to lift spirits within the dressing room in which the absences of Raúl Jiménez (Wolverhampton), Hiving Lozano (Naples), Jesús Corona (Porto), Héctor Herrera (Atlético de Madrid), Diego Lainez (Betis) are notorious. ) and Johan Vázquez (Genoa).
Of that group, only Corona will be able to see him play in one of the two upcoming games. The midfielder just reported to the national team after negotiating a transfer that ultimately did not materialize.
Mexico has not won a victory in Costa Rica in games since the knockout phase since September 5, 2009, when they won 3-0. After that they lost 2-1 to Brazil 2014 and drew 1-1 against Russia 2018.
Costa Rica comes into the game after achieving a goalless draw during their visit to Panama in which they made just two shots on goal and in which their goalkeeper Keylor Navas was a factor with a couple of saves to avoid defeat.
“We lacked in the offensive part and we lacked creation of the game, we have to handle that better and get used to suffering at times,” said veteran midfielder Bryan Ruiz, who asked for patience for a team that has 15 players playing their first tie .
“Most of the players live their first experience in these games, we have tried to transfer our experiences, it is known that there may be nervousness and it is normal,” added Ruiz. “For now a point has been made that, although it was suffered, is positive.” (AP)
Mexico defends leadership in visit to Costa Rica
