The Mexican National Team entered StateFarm Stadium knowing that only victory would keep them in the Copa América. Unlike what happened in Houston and Los Angeles, where the Aztec fans were the overwhelming majority, in Phoenix the support was distributed in the stands, with many yellow Ecuadorian shirts. The message from Jaime Lozano’s team was clear from the beginning, as they immediately went to look for the result.
One of the changes that the Mexican team introduced was the introduction of César Huerta in place of Uriel Antuna. The Pumas player brought freshness to the attack, although like the entire team, he had a hard time creating dangerous opportunities in the opponent’s goal. The first 15 minutes were filled with many fouls, especially on the Mexican side. In addition, in Ecuador there seemed to be a rule to waste as much time as possible on every dead ball, something that the referee immediately detected.
The first danger came at 19′, in a free kick by Kendry Páez that almost surprised Julio González. The Independiente del Valle footballer charged very close to the left corner and from there took a shot at the near post, where the Pumas goalkeeper could barely react.
Immediately afterwards came the Mexican response. At 21′, Julián Quiñones took a cross to the far post, which was finished off by César Huerta, but went over the goal. The first half was also very physical, with wear and tear on both national teams. Before the break, at 45+1′, Julián Quiñones made a ball that Angelo Preciado could not receive and took a cross that Santiago Giménez could not sneak between the three posts.
The controversial play came in the 58th minute, when it seemed that Félix Torres had committed a penalty on Gerardo Arteaga, but the referee ultimately did not sanction anything after consulting the VAR. In that same action, Santiago Giménez hit the post with a header and missed the opportunity to open the scoring.
One of Mexico’s clearest chances came in the 64th minute, when Julián Quiñones fired a shot from mid-distance that Alexander Domínguez saved with both hands to drown out the cheers in the stands. With just under 25 minutes on the clock, Jaime Lozano sent Uriel Antuna and Guillermo Martínez onto the field, using two number nines for the first time in the Copa América.
Ecuador found a chance from a long ball, something they tried constantly during the match. Enner Valencia controlled the ball outside the area and fired a powerful shot straight at Julio González, who once again saved it at a key moment.
In the final stretch, Mexico turned to the attack in search of the goal that could give them the victory and the ticket to the quarterfinals of the Copa América. On the field, the Ecuadorians fell one after another with cramps, which made the fans in the stands desperate.
In the 80th minute, Ecuador encountered a counterattack by Enner Valencia, who traveled almost half the field in front of the goal, but could not define precisely. The last moments were of many fouls and slow play, something that did not suit the Mexican National Team.
Already in the minutes of injury time, a hope seemed to fall on Jaime Lozano, when in a play that was not at all tight, a penalty was called. After the review, as expected, it was reversed and with it, the end of Mexico in the most prestigious continental competition on the continent.
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Changes
Uriel Antuna (66′, Cesar Huerta), Guillermo Martinez (66′, Orbelin Pineda), Alan Mind (66′, Kendry Páez), Carlos Gruezo (75′, Kevin Rodriguez), Angel Mena (75′, Jeremy Sarmiento), Eric Sanchez (84′, Luis Romo), Jordi Cortizo (85′, Julian Quiñones), Alexis Vega (89′, Gerardo Arteaga), Andres Hurtado (90′, Angelo Preciado)
Cards
Referee: Mario Escobar
VAR referee: Silvio Trucco, Rodrigo Carvajal
Cesar Montes (5′,Yellow), Moisés Caicedo (42′,Yellow), Jorge Sanchez (49′, Yellow), Luis Chavez (72′, Yellow), Johan Vasquez (81′, Yellow), Carlos Antona (93′,Yellow)
Classification Group B PT PJ PG PE PP 1
9
3
3
0
0
2
4
3
1
1
1
3
4
3
1
1
1
4
0
3 0 0 3 Group B PT PJ PG FOR PP 1
9
3
3
0
0
2
4
3
1
1
1
3
4
3
1
1
1
4
0
3
0
0
3
2024-07-01 02:07:18
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