El Salvador vs. Mexico: Why Slow Start in Qualifying Should Worry El Tri Fans

While Mexico may have won their two qualifying matches to earn the top spot in Group B, El Tri fans have reason to be concerned.

Mexico faced an uphill battle by playing the El Salvador team at the Estadio Cuscatlan in El Salvador, as the passionate home fans seemed devour Mexico early in the game.

El Salvador dominated possession in the first half of the game, maintained poise and confidence in an underdog matchup, and came out fighting and only one goal short in a 2-1 matchup. While Mexico was 2-0 in their early matchups, they proved themselves to be an entirely beatable club if played correctly.

Fans of the El Tri club may have noticed the exhaustion on the faces of their players following the game, and ought to address that with a notable grain of concern. After all, there are stronger teams in this tournament than El Salvador. In terms of their play on the field, there was little to be found fundamentally impressive about Mexico’s play.

The ultimate positive takeaway is that the perseverance of the club, even in a hostile road environment, was strong enough to win the match.

To simply chalk up the match as only such, however, is simply an injustice to the way that Mexico let El Salvador play in the gritty and physical game. By pulling out the victory, Mexico earns months of rest before their next direly important match. But following Tuesday’s showing, fans may realize that there is indeed reason to be concerned after the World Cup qualifier.

Initially, Mexico was unable to score for the first hour of play. It was not until the 60th minute that Jesus Zavala gave Mexico the first score of the game.

Only five minutes later, El Salvador was able to tie the game on a free kick. Of the 90 minutes in the game, Mexico played with the lead for only 10 (60th minute to the 65th minute, and 85th minute to 90th minute following Hector Moreno’s goal) total minutes—equating to roughly 11 percent of the time spent on the field.

If Mexico hopes to make a statement in the World Cup, they will need to be significantly more dominant and far less rattled by the opposing crowd.

As one anecdote goes, Jorge Arangure Jr. told ESPN that fans of El Salvador camped outside of the Mexican hotel rooms and proceeded to wake the Mexican team by screaming and heckling the team at the top of their lungs late Monday night before the game.

The wakeup call is significant for Mexico, who had previously lost twice to El Salvador while playing on the road. After an unimpressive 3-1 victory over the lowest-seeded team, Guyana, El Tri lacked the momentum needed to enter the match with the necessary confidence.

While Mexico beat Brazil in a convincing 2-0 fashion in a recent match, it is clear that the dominant play has been a thing of the past. Entering the next stage of qualifying play, Mexico is far from an intimidating force to be reckoned with and is instead regarded as a club that can be beaten so long as the right mixture of physical play and fan involvement is taken into consideration.

That’s not how Mexico wants to be remembered.

In their upcoming matchup against Costa Rica on Sept. 7th, Mexico will be given an opportunity to show their skills on significantly more rest. If they’re more persuasive this time around, perhaps they will be able to make a bigger and bolder statement. The current wave may be bleak, but Mexico is still the top-rated team in their group and will enter upcoming matches as the overwhelming favorite.

Fortunately, Mexico has a strong team. They are faster than most, can score from multiple places on the field, and now are playing with a chip on their shoulder and a little something extra to prove.

After their tough win against El Salvador, they proved to have the heart of a champion. Only time will tell if they have the head and the skill set. After their slow start in Tuesday’s match, fans of El Tri have every reason in the world to be hesitant and skeptical.

Bryan is always interested in new opportunities and can be reached on Twitter. Click here to Follow @BryanKalbrosky.