Against the outclassed islanders, Mexico scored almost at will and erased numerous frustrations from a recent seven-match winless run.
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It worked. Peralta scored three goals, and El Tri looked creative without dos Santos.
Captain Andres Guardado nearly willed the ball into Guerra’s net just past the quarter-hour mark, as Mexico hit the front through Peralta.
Mexico’s Giovani Dos Santos (black jersey) tries to avoid U.S. goalkeeper on the way to scoring one of the greatest goals in CONCACAF Gold Cup history on June 25, 2011, in Pasadena, California. After the Cuban defenders were unsure of how to handle a bouncing ball in the box, Vela bodied his defender off the ball and fired a left foot shot past Diosvely Guerra. Vela sent a high ball into the penalty area for Peralta at the top of the six-yard box. While the second row band and this is what made the trip south, Herrera’s repeated insistence that the players at his disposal were good enough to make the end, means going out in the group stage without a single win shaken his reputation.
Mexico added a fourth just before the halftime whistle.
The possesion numbers were lobsited 70-30 in favor of Mexico, while they had an advantage of shots on goal of nine to one. However, as the second half wore on Herrera gave more players a chance to participate in the match. It was much of the same as there were moments when the Mexican center backs could likely have taken naps seeing as how all players except for Guillermo Ochoa were on the Cuban side of the pitch.
Mexico undoubtedly have the talent to go all the way but will they have the discipline and organization to make it through the trickier knockout fixtures?
It’s hard to gauge anything from this match as Cuba were decimated by lack of a bench and were missing some of their “would-be” starters.
Fans who want to watch the Mexico vs. Cuba soccer match live online can find streaming video through FOX Sports Go in the United States and BT Sport in the U.K. This leaves Cuba with 16 players, barring further defections, suiting up and an assistant coach managing the team.
The worry for Mexico in the wake of these two injuries and some underwhelming results leading up to the tournament is, ultimately, a lack of focus. The team was very disciplined positionally, and at times showed different formations.
Herrera rose to prominence at Club América, where he won Liga MX with a thrilling team that played in a 5-3-2 formation.
Both teams travel to Glendale, Arizona to for their next matches at University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday.
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At times Cuba’s defending verged on the comical, as they consistently failed to pick up Mexico’s movement and struggled to handle the pace and power of El Tri’s wide men.
