Mexico vs. Guatemala: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Friendly

The Mexico national team began what promises to be a whirlwind summer with a 3-0 win in a friendly over Guatemala on Saturday in the Estadio Victor Manuel Reyna.

For the most part, this was El Tri's "B" team as coach Miguel Herrera prepares for the 2015 Copa America, which begins on June 11. Many of the veteran players who've figured in the national team in the past were overlooked to save them for more important matches later on.

Raul Jimenez, who was included in Saturday's friendly squad, didn't view his inclusion as any sort of slight and instead looks at it as a chance to make some noise in South America.

"We are encouraged that Miguel has such confidence," he said, per FourFourTwo. "We have to think about that, that we transcend to a great tournament, to be champions you have to beat anyone, we can do it, we are a large group." 

Despite Herrera not picking his best 11 players, many will have expected Mexico to dispatch Guatemala with relative ease. El Tri didn't have a great start to the game and really didn't get going until later into the second half. It wasn't an entirely convincing performance, but ironing out the wrinkles in a team is what friendlies are all about. This was nothing more than a learning experience for Herrera and his team.

Eduardo Herrera was responsible for the first two goals.

ESPN Tri figured before that the game that he and Matias Vuoso are fighting over the last striker spot in the starting XI, so Saturday's performance will certainly help him in that regard:

Herrera's first goal came in the 31st minute as Gerardo Flores drew in the Guatemalan goalkeeper with an attacking run from the right. With Ricardo Jerez nowhere near his goal, Herrera didn't have an easy finish but a big target at which to aim helped him out quite a bit.

ESPN FC's Cesar Hernandez focused on the provider of the goal rather than the scorer. He wants to see Flores bring a little more consistency to his game:

The goal was the lone highlight of the first half for Mexico, who struggled to break down the Guatemalan defense. Mexican football writer Tom Marshall felt that Miguel Herrera will not have liked what he saw from his team during the first 45 minutes:

Eduardo Herrera doubled El Tri's lead in the 64th minute. After getting on the end of a nice through ball from Hugo Ayala, Herrera did well to fend off Guatemalan defender Dennis Lopez before beating Jerez at the far post.

Matthew Tomaszewicz of the Shin Guardian praised the entire attacking move:

Even after Herrera picked up the brace, Marshall still isn't sure as to whether he's deserving of a first-team spot right now:

Jesus Corona might have pushed Herrera down the pecking order after taking advantage of some very poor Guatemalan defending in the 75th minute to score Mexico's third goal of the evening. Jimenez did most of the work, delivering a nice low cross to Corona, who essentially had a tap-in.

Looking at the squad selection as a whole, Hernandez also feels that Corona's somewhat unpredictable style on the ball helps to add a different dimension to the Mexican attack:

Miguel Herrera will have a selection headache—the kind of headache any manager wants to have—as he looks to finely tune his team for the Copa America. He'll have no shortage of opportunities with which to determine his starting XI.

El Tri have a busy slate of fixtures ahead in the next few months.

In addition to the Copa America, the 2015 Gold Cup kicks off on July 7, with El Tri in a group with Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, and their opponents from Saturday, Guatemala.

Marshall feels that Herrera will look at the Gold Cup as the top priority this summer with the way he selected his Copa America squad. No matter what, Herrera will get a good look at a lot of his players across the two tournaments as he prepares for 2018 World Cup qualification.

Guatemala also has some important fixtures ahead. They face Bermuda in a two-legged tie on June 12 and 15 to earn passage to the third round of World Cup qualification in the CONCACAF region. The Gold Cup will be another opportunity for them to prove themselves on the continental stage.