Mexico national team boss Jaime ‘Jimmy’ Lozano believes neither his side or the US men’s national team are favorites for the upcoming Concacaf Nations League final this weekend.
El Tri are coming off a 3-0 triumph over Panama in the semifinals, where Lozano’s side displayed the art of counter-attacking to a tee at AT&T Stadium. Mexico recorded just 41% possession, choosing to sit in for most of the match and break through in transition with the likes of Edson Alvarez and Julian Quinones – who scored his first goal as a member of the national team – put the Concacaf giants in front near the end of the first 45.
Orbelin Pineda’s second-half strike propelled Mexico to a 3-0 lead with what would end up being the final goal of the contest, in which Mexico scored three goals off of just six total shots. Meanwhile, Panama amassed 18 shots (five on target) but were unable to get past the legendary Guillermo ‘Memo’ Ochoa, who made five saves on the night.
With Mexico’s more convincing performance against Panama, many might think of El Tri as the favorites going into Sunday night’s clash with their American rivals. Even though the US were terrible for the most part against a weakened Jamaica side, they are still the current Nations League holders and have won the first two editions played – which Lozano noted after his team’s win over Panama.
“It is a final, a classic,” Lozano said after the game. “The United States has won both editions of this tournament and I believe that there are no favorites.”
Lozano, who guided Mexico to the 2023 Gold Cup title as an interim before being brought on as permanent head coach, explained that both teams will have their own difficulties heading into the deciding match. Mexico will likely be without defender Julian Araujo, while the USMNT had to play 120 minutes to get past Jamaica in the semifinals.
“Whoever does things better, whoever recovers better too … because Araujo comes out torn [with an injury]. They have too many minutes [played], recovery will be very important to face the final in the best way,” he said.
Lozano acknowledged that while he likes where his team is at mentally, there is still plenty to improve on – especially on the defensive end when you consider how many shots Panama managed to get off with their 59% possession.
“I’m sure both teams want to get ahead with this cup, but I think the team is good, mentally they will be strong,” he said. “There are many things to improve because even though we didn’t concede a goal, we scored three, I think the score could have been very different.”
Mexico will renew their rivalry with the US on Sunday night at AT&T Stadium, looking to dethrone the Stars and Stripes to lift their first Nations League title after falling in the 2023 semifinal last summer.
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