Muddled Mexico offers USMNT its best opportunity for statement win

Mexico is in something of a new era itself after its Round of 16 World Cup exit at the hands of England. Playing legend Rafa Marquez, known to American fans for his two-year stint with the New York Red Bulls in the early 2010s, has taken over for previous coach Javier Aguirre. Marquez has talked a big game since stepping into Aguirre's shoes, but the results — and the playing style — haven't backed him up, and his Mexico side feels vulnerable and flimsy for the first time since the 2024 Copa America. That's bad news for Marquez...but excellent news for a USMNT side hungry for a statement victory.

Mixed messaging from the top

To hear Marquez tell it, the value inherent in his appointment came from his familiarity with the wider Mexican national team system. 

"I’m not starting from zero," he said upon his appointment. 

"Given the results we achieved at the World Cup, I feel very positive about the situation. I know I won’t be starting from scratch. There is continuity and a solid foundation already in place, which makes me very excited about the prospect of helping this national team grow."

Marquez had a point there: he was a key assistant to Aguirre during Mexico's last World Cup cycle and spent two years learning the ins and outs of the program. His appointment is, in fact, one that speaks toward continuity rather than reinvention, and it was refreshing to hear him call it out so clearly in his first news conference on the job.

That clarity didn't last, though. When Marquez's Mexico struggled against Colombia and Peru, both he and his players started speaking about a lack of continuity and a drastic need for change. 

"With a lot of players who hadn’t played together, it was tough at times," said Mexico defender Victor Guzman. "We have to be patient. This is a project that is just getting started."

Marquez went on to back up Guzman's claims. 

"I wish we could play like Barcelona," he lamented. "But we don’t have the raw material, we have to adapt and we have very little time."

So which is it? Is Mexico building upon a solid foundation or starting from scratch? Is it working with a successful talent pool or is it grasping at straws to find a new one? Marquez and his team don't seem to know yet — or if they do, they're changing their answers based on how their results fall.

A questionable roster

Post-World Cup rosters are always wild affairs, but Marquez's Mexico selections appear wilder than most. He's called in his fair share of teenagers — 17-year-old Gilberto Mora is leading the charge on that front, though a niggling injury may keep him out of the USMNT game — but the veterans he's called to support them are questionable at best.

Marquez called up the LA Galaxy's Chucky Lozano, who rightfully missed the last Mexico World Cup squad, and Inter Miami's German Berterame, who rightfully missed the last two. Lozano and Berterame are celebrated figured in Mexico but they are decidedly not known as dressing room stabilizers or effective mentors of young players. They are flighty, inconsistent attackers whose lack of consistency has hampered them at the club and international level. Leveraging them as touchpoints for Mexico's next generation is, to put it mildly, a bold swing.

It's one that Marquez has taken, though, and that means it's one the USMNT can exploit. If it can ride its wave of positivity to a statement win over Mexico, its second era under Mauricio Pochettino will be well and truly under way.

The USMNT will take on Mexico on Saturday, Oct. 3 in Glendale, Ariz.