Mexico

EXCLUSIVE: Guardado Says Mexico Has to Qualify

In an exclusive interview with Goal.com's Juan Lirman, Andres Guardado discusses CONCACAF qualifying, calls the U.S. a "thorn" and states that Mexico has to qualify for the World Cup in 2010.

Dec 12, 2008 11:56:42 AM

More On : Mexico, Jose Andrés Guardado

In an exclusive interview with Goal.com, the Aztec midfielder admitted that "El Tri" is due for a win versus the U.S. in their opening match of the hexagonal final round of World Cup qualifying, but emphasized the importance of the final target.

"Mexico has to qualify," he stated.

That's the situation as José Andrés Guardado, one of Mexico's icons, revealed it in an exclusive Goal.com interview.

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The "Little Prince", a star for Spain's Deportivo la Coruña, admitted that the team "owes one" to the United States, more so than any other rival in their path to South Africa.

In the hexagonal, the three top teams qualify directly to the World Cup tournament, while the fourth-placed team has a final playoff chance to join the others in South Africa.

Goal.com: José Andrés, let's talk a little about México and the campaign for the World Cup 2010. Some think it was a risky bet to take on a foreigner as coach like Sven-Goran Eriksson and he's taken a lot of criticism, even though the team in now in the final Hexagonal. Do you believe México will be in South Africa in 2010?

Guardado: Well, more than believing it, I think we have to be there. We have to qualify. México has always been one of the favorites in CONCACAF and we have to take that on as a great responsibility and be conscious of that when we play. Now only six teams remain. To not be in the World Cup would be a failure for our the sport of our country. That we know very well.

Goal.com: Who is your main rival in the Hexagonal? Who do you see as the favorites?

Guardado: I think historically México and the U.S. have always been the favorites in the region. It's clear that for us, those two matches are fundamentally important ones. There's a great history of clashes between us in these past few years and beyond that, it's been a long while since we beat them on their home ground in qualifying. If we're talking about favorites, yes, I think the U.S. and Mexico are the top candidates that should qualify.

Goal.com: What does it mean to you and to Mexico, in general, this duel with the U.S.? It's a CONCACAF classic, but it's also advanced to the international level. Evidently, there are always stories between the two sides and that plays out on the field. There's a feeling that México is never able to play to their full potential against the U.S. Do you agree?

Guardado: Well, yes. That's true. We're aware that the U.S. has a great team and they've demonstrated that lately, but México doesn't have any reason to envy them. We have great quality, too. Unfortunately, when we've confronted them directly, they've taken the advantage and thrown us off our game. They've won the important games, in the Gold Cup, the America's Cup, or whatever. So then we now want to take out that thorn they've left inside us and take revenge by beating them in their house. Because they haven't been able to beat us at home, either, in Azteca Stadium.

Goal.com: So, to finish up, the U.S.-Mexico match is precisely the one that opens the final group stage in February. . .

Guardado: Yes. We're going to start the hexagonal against them, playing in the U.S., and those three points are very, very important in every aspect. It's that way for both teams. To start off on the right foot at that stage, versus our main rivals, will be key to our momentum. If we win there, that will let us face the other matches in the competition with a lot more calm.

--Juan Lirman, Goal.com

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