![]() “We lacked precision on goal, but we had a lot of intensity and control of the match,” Mexican coach Tata Martino said. (Aijaz Rahi / Associated Press)Īnd on it went, with Mexico failing to score in a third straight World Cup game, running its shutout streak to 294 minutes since Javier “Chicharito” Hernández’s goal against South Korea in the second game of the group stage in Russia. Mexico's Hirving "Chucky" Lozano, center, battles for the ball with Poland's Bartosz Bereszynski and Sebastian Szymanski during the World Cup Group C match at Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday. In the 26th minute it was Vega again, nodding a Héctor Herrera feed inches wide of the post. Seven minutes later Hector Moreno headed a Jesús Gallardo cross from the opposite side over the crossbar. In the fifth minute, Alexis Vega misplayed Hirving "Chucky" Lozano’s cross from the right wing, knocking it wide of the far post. Mexico was on the front foot from the start, playing its best game in at least a year, but it couldn’t finish. It also will need to take advantage of its opportunities and it failed to do that against Poland, holding the ball for 54 of the 90 minutes and taking nearly twice as many shots but getting nothing to show for that domination. If Mexico, which has the second-oldest roster in the tournament, is to go deep in this World Cup, it will need more than just the kind of big plays Ochoa turned in. Mexico wanted to score one too, and for much of the game it seemed just inches away from doing just that. UEFA allowed teams to use the armbands in the latest round of Nations League games in September, but the decision to wear them in Qatar, where same-sex relationships are banned, was widely viewed as a form of protest.Īs a result, just hours before England kicked off against Iran, becoming the first European team to take the field in Qatar, global soccer’s governing body issued a statement saying players not wearing armbands provided by FIFA would be given a yellow card.“I know how much he wanted to score a goal in the World Cup,” Michniewicz said. The captains of seven European teams said they intended to wear armbands sporting the heart-shaped logo of the OneLove movement, which promotes inclusion and diversity in soccer and society. But the game took a backseat to politics again Monday when FIFA threatened to sanction players wearing rainbow-colored armbands in support of the LGBTQ community while Iran’s players refused to sing their country’s national anthem before their opening game with England. (Alessandra Tarantino / Associated Press)ĪL RAYYAN, Qatar - FIFA president Gianni Infantino has asked for the focus at the World Cup to remain on soccer. Which is why Antuna makes it a point to go back to the city where he grew up and to Santos Laguna, the Mexican club that gave him his start, to mentor kids who, like him, have a dream but little else in their lives. If it takes a village to raise a child, it can take considerably more than that to raise a World Cup soccer player. “My parents, my grandparents have always instilled that in me since they were the first people who were with me,” he said. Yet no matter how far he’s roamed and how high he’s climbed, Antuna has never forgotten where he came from and who helped him. “Very happy to be achieving a dream that I set for myself from a very young age,” he said in Spanish. Now to Qatar, where he’ll likely make his World Cup debut Tuesday when Mexico opens group play against Poland. To clubs in the Netherlands, England and the U.S. To the medal stand at the Tokyo Olympics. ![]() Mexico cleared the deflection, the match remained scoreless in the 58th minute and the crowd roared.ĭOHA, Qatar - Soccer has taken Uriel Antuna to places he never imagined. It is Ochoa’s fifth World Cup appearance, but age doesn’t appear to be an issue for the veteran keeper so far today. Lewandowski had a chance to score his first World Cup goal, but it was blocked by Ochoa, adding to his status as a World Cup legendary stopper. VAR determined Moreno should be hit with a yellow card for pulling Lewandowski’s jersey during the play, and Poland was awarded a penalty kick. They got tangled up in the box and Memo Ochoa did just enough to poke the ball away. He punched away a shot during a corner and then easily gathered a deeper shot fired off the rebound.Īfter Poland flipped the field, with the pro-Mexico crowd relatively quiet, Robert Lewandowski nearly slipped past Hector Moreno. In the 52nd minute, Mexico pushed Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny, who came up with back-to-back stops. Momentum shifted seven minutes into the second half.
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