Mexico's path to the World Cup is already off to a concerning start.
On Thursday night in Glendale, Arizona, the Mexican Men's National Team faced off against the Uruguayan Men's National Team in a friendly match of preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this year.
It was a disappointing night for Mexico, as they continue to try finding a rhythm in their style of play in such a crucial time period for the national team, in their quest for the "quinto partido", otherwise known as the fifth quarterfinal world cup match, a hurdle that El Tri hasn't been able to overcome since 1986.
Mexico's coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino spoke after the game, and he emphasized that El Tri has some serious issues to address going forward. But as of now, the Argentine says that this team is simply not ready to compete in Qatar as it stands.
"The reality is, we're not ready," said Martino in the post-game news conference. "If we focus on just today's game, we are very far. I don't lose sight of the fact that it's a friendly, I don't lose sight of the fact that there is a goal achieved, very deservingly, and that Mexico gets to play in another World Cup."
Martino says that he does believe that the Mexican team played a competitive first half despite the scoreboard saying otherwise.
"In the first half, the team played well. Later, Uruguay played very well. We had two scoring opportunities [in the first 45 minutes]. The first half was even," said Martino.
However, Martino says that they will continue to find ways to address their concerns in order to arrive to Qatar fully confident within themselves.
"This is part of the preparation and in the preparation, as has happened in the last four years, there are good and difficult moments. Obviously, if I were convinced that this can't be corrected, we wouldn't be talking."
