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Winners And Losers: Mexico vs. North Korea
Goal.com's Andrea Martinez rates the winners and losers from Mexico's games against North Korea.
Mar 18, 2010 9:00:00 AM
By Andrea Martinez
Winners
Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez - Though the player has gone through a dry run in the last four games against Chivas, Hernandez is not have that problem with the national team. Once again, ‘Chicharito’ scored a goal for Mexico to seal the win. If he was a doubt in Javier Aguirre’s mind on making the squad, this game should have made up the mind of the national team coach. ‘Chicharito’ may not be ready to start games in South Africa, but should be included because he’s a game changer.
Cuauhtémoc Blanco - Blanco may not possess the same speed as he once did and it clearly shows when placed against the younger players coming up the ranks, but on Wednesday night against North Korea he showed that he is a valuable asset to the team. His control of dead balls gave Mexico the lead. Over time he’s shown that he’s able to score from those situations, as demonstrated by an earlier shot that hit the post earlier in the first half.
Losers
Miguel Sabah - Originally not part of the Javier Aguirre’s original call-ups, the replacement player didn’t make a case for his inclusion in the final team. His time on the field wasn’t used to showcase his talent. His inclusion in the team earlier in the cycle helped Mexico, but now, he hasn’t really shown why he deserves to be there.
Guillermo Ochoa - Amidst fans chanting for Oswaldo Sanchez’s return to the Mexican national team, current goalkeeper Ochoa made the biggest mistake of the night fumbling the ball. A usually easy shot for Ochoa, the goalkeeper saw the ball go past him for North Korea’s equalizer. With Jonathan Orozco and Luis Ernesto Michel fighting and giving good arguments on why they should be the goalkeepers for the national team, Ochoa set up some points against him. Perhaps he just doesn’t have enough experience to be on the world’s biggest stage. Though he won’t be dropped from the team, Aguirre has shown a preference for the America goalkeeper, it does make it harder for him to be the number one choice.
Jonathan Dos Santos - The young Barcelona player had a difficult time in the game against North Korea. He had a powerful shot early in the game, but wasn’t as present on the field for the rest of the time. Like he said, he is young and there is pressure and he’s still developing, but compared to his other times in “la verde” this performance wasn’t great.
Oswaldo Sanchez - The fans at his home stadium were chanting for Sanchez’s return and surely that inflated his ego just a bit. He’s mentioned a few times that he won’t talk about the national team since he is not on it anymore, but his actions after the Ochoa blunder certainly did not reflect what he previously said. Sanchez was shown as taking off his jacket, walking down a few steps, and pretending to prepare to jump onto the field. For claiming to support his teammates, Sanchez did the opposite.
Goal.com
For more coverage of the Mexican national team, visit Goal.com's Mexico page.
Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez - Though the player has gone through a dry run in the last four games against Chivas, Hernandez is not have that problem with the national team. Once again, ‘Chicharito’ scored a goal for Mexico to seal the win. If he was a doubt in Javier Aguirre’s mind on making the squad, this game should have made up the mind of the national team coach. ‘Chicharito’ may not be ready to start games in South Africa, but should be included because he’s a game changer.
Cuauhtémoc Blanco - Blanco may not possess the same speed as he once did and it clearly shows when placed against the younger players coming up the ranks, but on Wednesday night against North Korea he showed that he is a valuable asset to the team. His control of dead balls gave Mexico the lead. Over time he’s shown that he’s able to score from those situations, as demonstrated by an earlier shot that hit the post earlier in the first half.
Losers
Miguel Sabah - Originally not part of the Javier Aguirre’s original call-ups, the replacement player didn’t make a case for his inclusion in the final team. His time on the field wasn’t used to showcase his talent. His inclusion in the team earlier in the cycle helped Mexico, but now, he hasn’t really shown why he deserves to be there.
Guillermo Ochoa - Amidst fans chanting for Oswaldo Sanchez’s return to the Mexican national team, current goalkeeper Ochoa made the biggest mistake of the night fumbling the ball. A usually easy shot for Ochoa, the goalkeeper saw the ball go past him for North Korea’s equalizer. With Jonathan Orozco and Luis Ernesto Michel fighting and giving good arguments on why they should be the goalkeepers for the national team, Ochoa set up some points against him. Perhaps he just doesn’t have enough experience to be on the world’s biggest stage. Though he won’t be dropped from the team, Aguirre has shown a preference for the America goalkeeper, it does make it harder for him to be the number one choice.
Jonathan Dos Santos - The young Barcelona player had a difficult time in the game against North Korea. He had a powerful shot early in the game, but wasn’t as present on the field for the rest of the time. Like he said, he is young and there is pressure and he’s still developing, but compared to his other times in “la verde” this performance wasn’t great.
Oswaldo Sanchez - The fans at his home stadium were chanting for Sanchez’s return and surely that inflated his ego just a bit. He’s mentioned a few times that he won’t talk about the national team since he is not on it anymore, but his actions after the Ochoa blunder certainly did not reflect what he previously said. Sanchez was shown as taking off his jacket, walking down a few steps, and pretending to prepare to jump onto the field. For claiming to support his teammates, Sanchez did the opposite.
Goal.com
For more coverage of the Mexican national team, visit Goal.com's Mexico page.
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