For the second year in a row, Mexico turned around an 0-2 deficit against Honduras in the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals. This time, a convincing 4–0 victory in the team's best performance since Javier Aguirre returned to manage El Tri secured its place in the semifinals.
Mexico dominated the game from the jump, pushing forward in numbers and generating chance after chance until Raúl Jiménez opened the scoring just before halftime to bring El Tri within one with 45 minutes to go. In the second half, Mexico dismantled Honduras.
Henry Martín came off the bench and scored the second goal of the game to bring the tie level on aggregate and in the 85th minute, Jorge Sánchez made up for a miss minutes prior and scored El Tri's third. Martín then scored from the penalty spot in stoppage time to secure the comeback.
Aguirre's men stood up to the task after the dreadful defeat in the first leg. Mexico tallied 27 shots on the night and had nearly 80% possession. In the rare occasions where Honduras had attacking chances, the defense and Luis Malagón stood tall.
There were a number of stand out performances in what was undoubtedly one of the best performances from El Tri in years. For 2025, Aguirre's challenge is to string together performances like this against stronger opposition. However, Mexico can rest easy knowing it fulfilled its obligation of avoiding a catastrophic exist.
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Aguirre Made Eight Changes in the Lineup and it Worked
If Aguirre was responsible for the loss in the first leg, then he's equally responsible for the victory in the second leg.
El Vasco opted to modify his lineup almost entirely, with eight changes to the XI that began the game in Honduras. Mexico crowded the midfield with four natural central midfielders that completely confused Honduran players that didn't know who to mark. The introduction of Rodrigo Huescas and Jesús Gallardo offered width and depth to an otherwise congested system in the middle of the pitch.
Alexis Vega played one of his best games wearing Mexico's shirt, linking up with Jiménez and the midfield with clever touch and go plays of one or two touches that set up scoring opportunities. Jesús Orozco played as the left center back and was sublime.
On the ball, Mexico played a 2-5-2 formation and dominated the game, making it feel like that the comeback was inevitable from the get go. In the end, Aguirre's bravery was rewarded.
Cruz Azul's DNA is All Over El Tri
The best team in Liga MX supplied Mexico with six players for the international break and today, Aguirre started the game with three Cruz Azul central midfielders.
Alexis Gutiérrez started getting his first minutes in Mexico's senior national team. Charly Rodríguez and Luis Romo where alongside him and during stretches of the game, it felt as though it was Cruz Azul playing on the grass of the Estadio Nemesio Diéz. Huescas played for Cruz Azul under manager Martín Anselmi until he made his move to FC Copenhagen last summer.
Mexico's possession based system with plenty of midfield technicians plus attacking wing backs was essentially the same style Cruz Azul utilized all season in Liga MX. The players thrived in a familiar approach as they looked comfortable on the pitch. With Vega and Jiménez in front of them, the midfielders were able to create clever and quick passing patterns to find openings in Honduras's low block.
Sánchez, another Cruz Azul player, came on for Huescas and scored El Tri's third goal of the night.
Aguirre not only relied on Cruz Azul players, he also shifted and incorporated Anselmi's system. The decision worked and Mexico played its best game in recent memory.
Mexico Must Play Like This Against Tougher Opposition
It was a fantastic performance by El Tri from start to finish, but it must be said it was against a weak Honduras side.
Mexico was better overall in the first leg, but mistakes complicated the tie. Honduras travelled to Mexico to protect its advantage or die trying. El Tri was free to dictate the game in part because of the team that was in front of them. It was clear that the altitude of 9,000ft in Toluca, Mexico, severely hindered an already inferior team that struggled in every facet of the game.
As previously stated, El Tri's comeback seemed inevitable from the start. Now, Canada awaits in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals in March. Jesse Marsch's side was the best Concacaf team in Copa América 2024 and has arguably been the best team in North America in recent years.
Even without the altitude and home field advantage, Mexico must deliver a similar performance against Canada for pundits and fans alike to fully buy into Aguirre's project.
If El Tri is able to replicate this performance, then it can beat any team in Concacaf, but this team hasn't been able to do so in recent years and it's lost the benefit of the doubt. Mexico will once again get a chance to prove it can deliver against the big teams in the region en route to potentially a Concacaf Nations League title.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as El Tri Completes the Comeback: Takeaways From Mexico's Victory Over Honduras.
