MEXICO CITY – Oscar Rojas scored with a 35-yard blast three minutes into the second half and gave Mexico a 2-1 victory over Trinidad & Tobago on Wednesday (June 10) that revived El Tri’s World Cup hopes.
The win was Mexico’s second in five games in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying, and climbed it past El Salvador into fourth place with six points at the midpoint of the “hexagonal”. Trinidad remained winless with two points and in last, further damaging its chances of returning to the World Cup after becoming the smallest nation to qualify in 2006.
Three teams from CONCACAF will qualify automatically for the 32-team field in South Africa, while the fourth-placed team will earn a second chance in a two-leg playoff with the fifth-placed team from South America.
Mexico had won only three of its previous 11 games, and two of those were friendlies. It was playing its second match since Javier Aguirre replaced Sven-Goran Eriksson as manager and saw the return of Chicago Fire forward Cuatehmoc Blanco to the starting lineup since he announced his retirement from international play in September.
Rojas scored by volleying a ball dropped back into the midfield, running onto and striking a right-footed shot that just cleared under the crossbar and right post.
El Tri pressed from the opening kickoff and scored after only 59 seconds. Francisco Rodriguez sent a ball out of midfield to Nery Castillo just outside the area. Castillo turned and fed a pass between and behind Trinidad defenders Carlos Edwards and Martin Edwards to a streaking Guillermo Franco, who chipped it over sprawled goalkeeper Clayton Ince.
Mexico continued to dominate Trinidad for the next 10 minutes, forcing Ince to come off his line twice to thwart Israel Castro and blocking Franco on another foray in the area. Trinidad remained on the defensive for nearly the entire half, rarely creating anything dangerous and not getting a shot on goal until Hayden Tinto managed a slow rolling effort from distance in the 26th minute.
El Tri had another period of repeated danger late in the half, forcing Ince into a series of saves and having him watch Franco put an unmarked header just wide in the 39th.
But Tinto gave Trinidad life 21 seconds into injury time, intercepting a poor backpass from Andres Guardado at the top of Mexico’s defensive third and taking two touches before unleashing a right-footed blast one stride inside the 18 that eluded goalkeeper Oscar Perez into the upper right corner.
Mexico continued to be the far more dangerous team in the second half, creating numerous chances including a run by Blanco that Ince frustrated with a reaction save in the 78th minute.
Trinidad has three of its remaining five matches at home, but trails fifth-placed El Salvador by three points. It’s only win in seven games since the Caribbean Championship in December was a 1-0 friendly victory over Panama in March. It next will play El Salvador at home on August 12.
Mexico heads to next month’s CONCACAF Gold Cup before resuming World Cup qualifying on August 12 at home against arch-rival the United States.
