Mexico vs. Nigeria: Major Takeaways from Friday's 2-2 Draw

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez scored two goals for Mexico, who fought back to earn a friendly 2-2 draw with Nigeria on Friday night.

Hernandez opened up the scoring in the 21st minute, taking a low cross from Pablo Barrera and slotting it perfectly into the far corner with aplomb. Nigeria battled back with two semi-serendipitous goals of their own—one on a penalty, one on a deflection—but another redirected goal from Chicharito in the 70th would pull things even for good.

With both sides fine-tuning for this month's Confederations Cup, Friday's match was a good way to take stock of what each country could look forward to—both in the coming weeks as well as next year on the world's biggest stage.

Here's one takeaway for each side from Friday's draw:

Chicharito Excels for Club AND Country

Want to know the difference—rather, one of the many innumerable differences—between the U.S. and Mexican national teams? Look no further than the International resumes of Javier Hernandez and Jozy Altidore.

The latter, America's sole legitimate threat at striker, had a season for the ages in Holland this year. He scored 31 total goals in competitions for AZ Alkmaar, his Dutch side, breaking Clint Dempsey's record for most American goals scored in a European season.

His skill around the net earned him a spot on Eredivisie's Team of the Season, another first for Yanks abroad in the Netherlands.

Once he trades the red and white of Alkmaar for the red, white and blue of America, however, that scoring touch goes by the wayside. Jozy hasn't scored for the U.S. since 2011's Gold Cup, a drought spanning almost two full years to the day.

Which brings us, finally, to Chicharito—the reason this piece is being written in the first place. The young Mexican striker, much like Jozy, excelled in Europe this season, scoring 18 goals in 36 games for a dominant Manchester United side. Unlike his American foil, however, Hernandez's production doesn't just not subside when he plays for his country...it intensifies.

With two more goals against Nigeria, both of which were spectacular in their own right, Chicharito now has 32 goals in 47 with the Mexican national team. That's good for fifth most in Mexico's history—a history much prouder and richer than our own, so far as soccer is concerned.

Did I mention he's just 24?

There are plenty of other differences between the U.S. and Mexican national teams. They possess the ball better than us, their back line isn't quite as big of a mess and they haven't (allegedly) called for a coup against their manager.

But nothing better reflects the gap between our sides than the gap between Javier and Jozy—a gap Chicharito made all-too-explicit with his performance against Nigeria. Until Altidore can catch up, which doesn't appear to be any time soon, Mexico will continue to be the favorite in CONCACAF play.

Nigeria Could Be a Serious World Cup Sleeper

As Michael Davies and Roger Bennett, the cheeky English duo from Grantland's "Men in Blazers" podcast, love to remind us: It is not wise to read much into Friendly matches. The atmosphere is too lax and the format is too different for us to draw any consequential conclusions.

That being said, it's hard not to take note of Nigeria's recent hot streak.

Friday's impressive 2-2 draw with Mexico—a side ranked 12 spots higher in the current FIFA Rankings—was just the latest of Nigeria's football triumphs. It also won the 2013 African Cup of Nations in impressive fashion, bouncing prohibitive favorite Ivory Coast in the knockout round en route to victory.

But this wasn't just a positive result for Nigeria. This was a positive result with no modicum of "flukiness." Unlike the American's recent 0-0 draw at Azteca, Nigeria challenged Mexico just as much as Mexico challenged back. This wasn't just a draw on paper, it was a draw on the pitch as well as every other sense of the word.

Nigeria's sleeper bona fides will be put to the test in a few weeks, as it represents Africa (by means of its AFCON victory) in the upcoming Confederations Cup. This is the same tournament America made a name for itself at four short years ago, ending Spain's 35-match unbeaten streak in the semis before blowing a 2-0 lead to Brazil in the final.

Nigeria will need to be at the top of its game to advance—Spain and Uruguay join them in Group B, with Brazil, Mexico and Italy looming across the table—but if nothing else, the top-flight competitive experience will help prepare them for Brazil 2014.

And if it plays with the same confidence it did against Mexico on Friday? Let's just say that Uruguay should take heed and make sure to bring its A-game on the 20th.