Mexico vs. Panama: What Gold Cup Exit Mean's for El Tri's World Cup Chances

Things continue to get worse for Mexico. With another 2-1 loss to Panama on Wednesday, it may be time to hit the panic button.

El Tri were already struggling in international play, both in World Cup qualifiers and in recent tournament play. Dating back to the end of January, Mexico is 4-4-8 and has failed to get much of anything going in the scoring department, netting just 14 goals in those 16 contests.

Mexico hasn’t been bad in the defensive third, but then again, its defense has benefitted from aggressive play at the other end of the pitch. That aggressive play just hasn’t amounted to much.

Coach Jose Manuel de la Torre has come under fire for that fact—and the obviously depressing results of late—and at this point, that pressure is probably warranted. El Tri have a ton of talent and haven’t been able to put it all together. Something has to change.

With just eight points through six World Cup qualifying matches, Mexico is already in danger of missing out on a top finish in group play. El Tri’s Gold Cup failures (and poor showing in the Confederations Cup) have no impact on the World Cup race, but they do highlight just how bad of shape Mexico is in right now.

De la Torre’s recent comments only solidify that fact. As quoted by Andrew Wiebe of MLSSoccer.com, El Tri’s embattled manager admitted his team is focused on its “own problems”:

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We've been focused on our problems rather than in those of others. We look at our rivals when we have to face them, and we get as much information as possible from them to find a way to win.

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The problem is, Mexico simply hasn’t found a way to win recently, and the way things are going, it probably won’t as long as de la Torre is at the helm.

Panama’s second 2-1 win over Mexico in Gold Cup play proved that. As much as “Chepo” has focused on learning from the team’s losses and making adjustments, it certainly didn’t show Wednesday night.

Panama had never beaten Mexico entering Gold Cup play, but it managed to pull off very similar upsets on consecutive occasions. With all due respect to the Panamanian side, that simply shouldn’t happen against a team recently considered a World Cup contender.

Only Mexico can decide what it will ultimately do with de la Torre, but something needs to change in a hurry. The way El Tri have played of late, they shouldn’t be thinking about a World Cup trophy—they should be thinking about simply making it past the qualifying stage.