Mexico needs to beat the United States on Monday in order to stay in the conversation for a direct spot into the World Cup.
This happened to Mexico.
The tournament hosts looked like dark horses a little over a week ago. Ahead of the W Championship, Monica Vergara and her squad had a 10-game winning streak and 52 goals scored. It seemed as though Mexico were ready to step out of the shadows and become a women's national team powerhouse in the North American region thanks to a young but flourishing women's top flight and a new generation of exciting talent.
"Everyone is going to see a Mexico that they've never seen before, and that's what we're going to do against Jamaica," boasted the man before the game.
The poor advertisement of the CONCACAF W Championship in Monterrey and non-weekend scheduling is probably to blame for the near-empty venue a day later. Jamaica'sBunny Shaw put the away side up in the 8th minute. As El Tri Femenil collected a long list of crosses into the opposition's 18-yard box, they began to worry. Jamaica had no problems cementing their victory over Mexico.
The loss doesn't mean anything. We're going to keep going. We're going to work on our upcoming games because it's simply a stumbling block.
The collapse was going to happen by Thursday. Mexico would not learn much from their mistakes against Haiti. Even though she's still unsure of her best XI, she decided to rest some of her top-performing players once again likeAlicia Cervantes and Jacqueline Ovalle.
Haiti took the lead in the 14th minute and El Tri Femenil was down by a goal at the half. Roselord Borgella scored off an ensuing penalty after a foul was committed by Stephany Mayor. The players were slow in the build-up and had trouble with chemistry. They were vulnerable to counter attacks as Haiti moved up field.
Things deteriorated for Mexico in the second half. There is no information about the seriousness of the injury. The young man was taken to the hospital for an exam after slamming into the woodwork.
Mexico's players were shell-shocked and disorganized in the final stages of the game, knowing that their tournament dreams were fading away after the final whistle. The players looked uncomfortable on the pitch against Haiti and Jamaica because of the media hype and expectations that were put on them. You get a team that is sitting dead last in Group A with no spot in the knockout round of the North American competition if you mix in early setbacks, continued tinkering with starting XIs and poor attendance. A place in the World Cup and the Olympics is not out of reach, even though there is a very small chance of that happening.
El Tri Femenil captain Kenti Robles said it was a difficult night for everyone. Nobody anticipated this.
Robles apologized as a message to fans.
The match against Haiti was a heavy blow for the Mexican soccer team, but also made the eyebrow-raising decision in the post-game to bring up ambitions years from now in the World Cup cycle.
Mexico's coach said that they knew that they could have challenges, but also that they had a young generation. You have to learn to work.
The USWNT will play Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico in the coming weeks.
The 39-year-old has only been in charge since early 2021, and understandably has needed time to tinker and adapt, but in meaningful games that can lead to a Women's World Cup after missing out on 2019.
Even more goals could fall into the back of Mexico's net when they play the U.S. national team on Monday. The United States had already qualified for the World Cup with a win over Haiti and a win against Jamaica, so they would have been the favorites to win the match. Haiti and Jamaica are competing for second place in Group A and the right to play in the World Cup.
A place at third in the group will be the best-case scenario for Mexico. They will need Haiti to defeat Jamaica in order to defeat the US. If they defeat the United States and Jamaica, they can go through, but it's unlikely they will surpass Haiti.
Even though there is a small chance of hope for Mexico, the nightmare will only get worse once they step onto the field against the US.
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