Copa America 2015: Day 2 Takeaways

Mexico entered the Copa America fray on Friday night, but the goalless draw with Bolivia at the Estadio Sausalito in Vina del Mar offered little entertainment in Group A.

El Tri dominated possession in the first period but were unable to find a way past a resilient defence, marshalled well by Leonel Morales.

Instead, it was Bolivia who threatened to open the scoring in the 14th minute, when Ricardo Pedriel struck the woodwork with a near-post header, which had left Mexico goalkeeper Jesus Corona floundering.

Silvia Izquierdo/Associated Press

And three minutes before the break, Corona produced a flying save to his left to thwart Jhasmani Campos, whose shot was heading for the top corner.

Mexico discovered more impetus in the second period, especially with the arrival of Raul Jimenez for Eduardo Herrera on the hour mark.

And the Atletico Madrid forward almost provided an instant impact when he flashed a header wide of goal.

In the 81st minute, Mexico were calling for a penalty when another sub, Javier Aquino, fell to ground after a Morales challenge, but the referee waved play on.

It wasn't thrilling entertainment for the crowd inside the stadium or the television audience, but here are some takeaways from the game:

1. Raul Jimenez gives Miguel Herrera food for thought

This has not been a great club season for Jimenez at the Vicente Calderon stadium. The striker barely registered for Diego Simeone's team, with Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann the preferred pairing.

Silvia Izquierdo/Associated Press

The former America forward played less than 600 minutes during the season for Atletico, per WhoScored.com, meaning he had a point to prove in the Copa America.

But Mexico head coach Miguel Herrera decided against starting Jimenez, a decision which, arguably, worked against his team.

Jimenez almost opened the scoring within minutes of coming on in the 60th minute of the game, stretching the Bolivia defence with some smart play.

Only a lack of good service prevented him from winning the game for El Tri, and Herrera must now consider whether to start with Jimenez when they face Group A leaders and host team Chile in Santiago on Tuesday.

2. Second string pull no strings for El Tri

It is understandable that Herrera should select two squads for the Copa America and Gold Cup tournaments this summer.

Names such as Javier Hernandez, Carlos Vela and Giovani dos Santos have been included in the Gold Cup squad, which was announced just as the game against Bolivia began, per Tom Marshall of ESPN.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

With so much more at stake in that competition, Herrera is right to pin his colours there, with a potential play-off match against the United States for a Confederations Cup spot in sight.

But Herrera claimed his squad for Chile was not a second-string one, per Kris Voakes of the official Copa America website:

"

Mexico is the only national team in the world that can play in two different confederations, which is great. We can play Copa America, and also the Gold Cup, which is our confederation.

This is why we need two teams in order to play these competitions, but that doesn’t mean that this is the B one.

People here want to make it to the final and win it. That’s our aim for the Copa America.

"

The lack of any creativity, outside of the impressive Jesus Corona, and the dearth of decent finishing in the whole 90 minutes suggests Herrera might have misjudged the quality in his Copa squad.

3. Bolivia do not look like 'worst' South American team in the tournament

The South American team are ranked 89th in the world by FIFA and have won only one match from their last 16 outings.

These are not signs of optimism for manager Mauricio Soria, who was previously the national goalkeeper for Bolivia.

Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press

However, there were encouraging pointers for the team and head coach in Vina del Mar on Friday.

A strong defensive unit, particularly, offered hope that Bolivia are capable of improving on their wretched recent form.

Julio Cesar Hurtado was, arguably, the best Bolivian player on show. After a ropey start in which his error almost gifted Tecatito Corona an early opener, the defender recovered to force his Mexican opponent out of the game in the second period and on to the opposite flank.

Further development for other players under Soria can help Bolivia for the future.

4. Are some predictions just too accurate?

When TortiousTroll took to Twitter 24 hours before the game started, they probably considered their thoughts to be tongue-in-cheek.

But was this prediction out of line? We'll let you decide.