WORLD CUP 2010 FRIENDLY: Mexico stuns Italy with 2-1 victory
Marcello Lippi must be wondering about where did he go so wrong. Was it his omission of his four top strikers Totti, Del Piero, Balotelli and Cassano or was it his inclusion of the ageing Cannavaro, Pirlo, Zambrotta, Gattuso. Anyway, in the end, it was a superb play by the Mexicans which is enough as a good reason for victory.
Carlos Vela and second-half substitute Alberto Medina were the aces who lead to this triumph in a friendly match against Italy in Brussels in which the end score tallied 2-1.
Vela made the ball reach the back of the net in the 17th minute while on the other hand, Medina scored in the 84th minute. Pressure was on the Azzurri at the start and ending moments of the game. However, they eventually conceived their lone goal just after Medina’s but were still too late to go for a win.
The match was a reminder of England’s treatment at Wembley last week. The Italians were pranced around the field by the Mexicans as they out-witted them. Javier Aguirre and his men sure gave the Azzurri a memory they won’t forget for a long time. While the El Tri lost to ‘The Three Lions’ due to their defensive lapses; the score resulted in a 3-1 loss. Aguirre used an enhanced defensive line up this time round with some promising results. Lippi on the other hand will be thinking that his experiments along with the 4-2-3-1strategies aren’t exactly working.
Mexico will open their account against the hosts of this year’s FIFA World Cup2010 in South Africa on the 11th of June in Johannesburg. He is starting with a team which includes Giovani Dos Santos of Tottenham and Javier Hernandez of Manchester United. There were rumours that Hernandez will quit the team in response to his brother’s exclusion from the squad. However, he did eventually come up to the liking of Aguirre's final selection of 23 men.
The Mexicans are definitely showing a great improvement in their play. It was their star Giovani who helped them take the lead from the Italians. Upon receiving the ball, he ran half the field and then crossed to the Arsenal player Vela who made no mistake in putting it past Gianluigi Buffon.
The Mexicans made superb plays all around the field. The Italians could have remarked the time zones with their straight and simple passing along the field. Mexico not only dominated in the possession at that time but also in many attempts to score a goal. The Italians have been disappointing since the start of the process of qualification and have barely managed a win with a two goal difference.
The understanding between the Mexican team seems to be renewed as Medina scored the second goal from a chip over the last line of defence of the Italians from substitute Cuauhtemoc Blanco. The chemistry shown in the entire game was immense. Media accepted the pass and blasted the ball onto the near post from a strong right foot.
The goal ultimately came from the Italian side which seemed to be somewhat of a fluke. In the 89th minute, substitute Salvatore Bocchetti struck the post that was just being replaced by Fabio with a good left footed volley. The ball got deflected then by Giampaolo Pazzini and landed near his fellow team-mate Bonucci at the near post who wasted no time in putting it in the back of the net.
The Italians are now going to travel to Geneva this Saturday for a match against Switzerland. This will be their last friendly before their departure to South Africa. This last match will be the key to re-establish their dominance as worthy contenders for the World Cup title. They are drawn in Group F, one that frankly is one of the easiest groups to conquer. Their first match will take place on the 14th of June encountering Paraguay in Cape Town.
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