Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Remember the song “Ring Around The Rosie” and the line “ashes, ashes we all fall down?” Well, Mexico collapsed tonight and majorly hurt their 2014 World Cup qualifying chances, and the fans at Azteca probably fell down because of their poor performance. In the end, Mexico fell to Honduras 2-1 at “unbeatable” Azteca.
2013 has shown one thing about Mexico, Jose Manuel ”Chepo”, and Azteca: they are no longer unbeatable at home and playing at Azteca isn’t as intimidating as it once was. With the 2-1 loss, Mexico’s 27-game winning streak at home qualifiers and 18-game winning streak in World Cup Qualifying at Azteca comes to an end.
Moreover, Chepo’s Mexico coaching tenure could end rather soon, before Tuesday’s match against the United States.
In this game against Honduras, Mexico took the early lead but the game quickly went from good to horrible. Honduras scored two goals between the 64′ and 66′ and held on for the 2-1 road victory.
Mexico’s qualifying chances take a big blow with the collapse loss. With three games left to play, Mexico faces both the United States and Costa Rica on the road. Currently, Mexico only has a 59.8% chance of qualifying now.
The pressure was on Mexico tonight and they fell down. The team is in shambles, and Chepo is soon to get a pink slip. If Mexico fails to make the 2014 World Cup, it would be the first time they don’t make it since 1990 when they were banned.
Slowly but surely, Mexico is falling and before we know it they could be signing “Ring Around the Rosie” and falling down together. It doesn’t look like they will be getting up anytime soon, but will travel to Columbus for Tuesday’s much anticipated match against the United States.
Don’t look now, but the 2014 World Cup could be Mexico-less.
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2014 World Cup Qualifying: The Pressure is on Mexico’s Chepo and Company
