Chile vs. Mexico: Winners and Losers from International Friendly
Chile and Mexico played to a scoreless, albeit adventurous, draw at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, Saturday.
Both sides included household names, such as Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez for La Roja and Andres Guardado and Giovani Dos Santos for El Tri, and yet neither group of players could find the back of the net over the 90 minutes.
Mexico, through Dos Santos and Javier Orozco, had the better chances to score, but the balance of play generally favoured Chile, who struggled mightily to play their attackers into meaningful position.
Following are some of the winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Hector Herrera, Who Kept Things Ticking for Mexico
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Hector Herrera is to Mexico what Arturo Vidal is to Chile.
Until his withdrawal in the 74th minute, the Porto midfielder had generally pulled the strings for Mexico in the centre of the park and managed to pick out Giovani Dos Santos with accurate passes more than once.
El Tri’s future in midfield will surely be guided by the 24-year-old going forward.
Loser: Giovani Dos Santos, Who Couldn’t Hit the Target
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Giovani Dos Santos had a forgettable night in Santa Clara.
The Villarreal attacker should have at least tested Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo midway through the first half and again just after the hour-mark, but on both occasions he drilled his effort high and wide of the target.
To add insult to injury (literally), he was substituted due to a muscle strain in the 66th minute.
Winner: Arturo Vidal, Who Showed No Sign of a Knee Injury
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The knee injury Arturo Vidal was supposedly carrying, according to the Mirror, didn’t seem to inhibit the Chile midfielder at all on Saturday.
That’s if he’s even injured in the first place.
The Juventus man played the entire 90 minutes at Levi’s Stadium and repeatedly threw himself into the vicious tackles he is known for.
He was also one of the few Chile players to have brought his shooting boots, and midway through the first half, he nearly opened the scoring when he tested Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa with a header from in close.
Loser: Javier Orozco, Who Missed an Absolute Sitter
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Javier Orozco should have opened the scoring just seconds after making his 66th-minute introduction.
Having replaced the injured Giovani Dos Santos, the Santos Laguna striker found himself with the ball at his feet and the Chile net gaping following a superb cutback, but instead of converting his chance, he ballooned his effort high over the crossbar as he tumbled to ground.
Mexico never came so close to scoring over the course of the match.
Winner: Guillermo Ochoa, Who Twice Bailed Out Mexico
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Guillermo Ochoa was one of the heroes of the 2014 World Cup, and he used his spectacular play in Brazil to earn a contract with Malaga.
On Saturday he picked up right where he left off with El Tri, making a pair of important saves that secured the draw for his team.
His first, and best, save of the night came midway through the first half when he leaped to tip Vidal’s goal-bound header over the crossbar; the second kept Marcelo Diaz from scoring in the 56th minute.
Loser: Javier Hernandez, Who Wasn’t Even There
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Javier Hernandez barely saw the pitch at the 2014 World Cup, and on Saturday he was in Spain while his countrymen battled Chile in Santa Clara.
Out of favour with Mexico manager Miguel Herrera, Hernandez will no doubt hope to turn his loan move from Manchester United and Real Madrid into an international comeback, but it’s unlikely he’ll see all that much playing time with the European champions.
Hernandez’s future with El Tri is very much up in the air at the moment.
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