Mexico’s head coach, Javier Aguirre, acknowledged on Sunday that a team as strong as England can only be beaten with a perfect performance; his players made mistakes, and that explains their elimination from the World Cup.
“We made three mistakes and paid dearly for them; when facing a Major League-caliber opponent like England, you have to do everything perfectly, and those mistakes knocked us out,” the coach said after the 2-3 loss to England in the World Cup round of 16.
Defensive mistakes cost Mexico the game
Mexico’s defense, which had gone four games without conceding a goal, faltered twice and found itself down 0-2 after Jude Bellingham scored twice.
After Julián Quiñones pulled one back, goalkeeper Raúl Rangel gave away a penalty, which Harry Kane converted with precision, and that’s when the Europeans began to secure the victory.
Raúl Jiménez then made it 2-3 by scoring another penalty kick, but it wasn’t enough for one of the three World Cup hosts.
“The dream is over, but we’re close to the best. Players win games, coaches lose them, so I’m the one responsible for the loss,” he said (Filed under: Javier Aguirre leaves Mexico).
Javier Aguirre ends his tenure and expresses his support for the future of El Tri
Javier Aguirre failed yesterday in his third attempt to lead Mexico to the top eight in a World Cup, after being eliminated in 2002 and 2010.
He confirmed that his tenure as head coach has come to an end and wished his successor—former Barcelona defender Rafael Márquez, who was announced months ago as his replacement—every success.
Aguirre said it was unfair to criticize any of his players for their mistakes and noted that his 26 players are like a family, one that is saddened by the losses and by the fact that forward Santiago Giménez was taken to the hospital with an injury.
“I’m leaving with mixed feelings; I’m proud of the family we built together, but when you lose, you never really get over it,” he added (Filed under: Javier Aguirre Leaves Mexico).
The dream ends, but we're close to the greats
Javier Aguirre
Trust Rafa Márquez
Aguirre said that Mexico has the budget, the facilities, and the talented players to make significant progress at the national team level.
He predicted a bright future for Márquez as a head coach.
“Mexican players have everything it takes to compete with the elite; we’ve sent young players to other leagues, and we must continue to do so,” he said.
Speaking about his team, he noted that most of the players are young and will have had time to mature by the next two World Cups—a fact, he said, that Rafa Márquez will take advantage of.
“I hope he does better than I did,” he concluded (Filed under: Javier Aguirre leaves Mexico).
With information from EFE
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