Mexico qualified for the World Cup after beating New Zealand 4-2 in the second leg of an intercontinental playoff yesterday, bringing an end to one of its most troubled and divisive qualifying campaigns.
Striker Oribe Peralta followed his double in the opening leg with a hat-trick in Wellington to send his team to Brazil with an emphatic performance that left memories of recent difficulties at least partly erased. Mexico advanced with an aggregate score of 9-3.
Mexico shed three coaches during a 10-match campaign in the CONCACAF confederation, during which it won only two games and scored just seven goals to finish fourth and was forced to face the trial of a playoff with Oceania champions New Zealand for a World Cup spot.
Photo: Reuters
Under Miguel Herrera, loaned to the national team by the Mexican League’s Club America, El Tri convincingly beat New Zealand both home and away to keep up its record as one of the most consistent of World Cup qualifiers.
“We were expecting to be in the World Cup a long time ago, but it wasn’t like that,” Mexican keeper Moise Munoz said. “So we had to play a couple of games more to be there. It was really tough and we expected it to be tough here in New Zealand. They fought like warriors to the last minute and they deserve the credit also.”
Herrera chose not to select players based in Europe or elsewhere for his playoff against New Zealand, naming a starting lineup of locally-based players which included seven players from his own club. His team justified that policy and Herrera, having ended a period of instability in Mexico soccer, now hopes to be rewarded with a longer-term contract.
Peralta had a hat-trick before halftime as Mexico cut to pieces New Zealand’s defense which, after being too deep in Mexico, pushed too far forward yesterday and was consistently exposed.
Mexico opened up New Zealand on the flanks and, when they centered possession, found Peralta unopposed.
Peralta scored in the 14th minute after taking a pass from Juan-Carlos Medina and chipping over oncoming goalkeeper Glen Moss. He scored again in the 28th minute when New Zealand was exposed on the left flank and for a third time in the 33rd minute.
New Zealand pulled a goal back when Chris James scored from the penalty spot in the 79th minute.
Striker Rory Fallon, whose goal against Bahrain on the same ground sent New Zealand to the 2010 World Cup, scored four minutes later when he side-footed a close-range shot wide of Munoz.
Carlos Pena then sealed the win for Mexico with a goal five minutes from full time.
“We’re just a bit disappointed we couldn’t get that equalizer,” New Zealand captain Tommy Smith said. “Obviously we strung a few more passes together tonight and hopefully that bodes well for the future.”
New Zealand had one scoring chance in the first half from a penalty in the 38th minute when striker Jeremy Brockie hurled himself to the ground at the feet of Munoz. The goalkeeper calmly picked himself up and saved Brockie’s shot, leaving the New Zealand striker without a goal in 41 international appearances.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS