Mexico easily dispatches Iran, next faces Paraguay

By: John | June 4th, 2007

Friendlies rarely offer up any drama. But that was not the case Saturday night in San Luis Potosi. The drama wasn’t about the rematch between group D rivals in last year’s world cup. Nor was it about Cuauhtemoc’s absence due to some business in Chicago. No this was all about Nery Castillo and his debut with the Mexican national team. Mexico did defeat Iran, 4-0. But it was Nery who everyone wanted to see.

The crowd, the media, and the country were anxious to see what all the fuss was about. And right from the get go, Nery showed that he is not the passive striker who only gets involved in the goal mouth. As he impressed the crowd with his speed, his skill with the ball at his feet, he illicited the crowd to chant “Nery, Nery!” Way to go Potosinos, make the kid feel at home. His defelcted shot was the catalyst that ended with Mexico’s first goal, only 90 seconds into the match. A series of bounces and headers eneded up on the fut of the venerable Jared Borgetti, who pushed the ball across the line from an acute angle.

Nery had his moments. Some were good, some were not. He was very nervous, and he seemed to be more worried about finding the net than playing in the moment at times. Considering it was his first game at the national team level, we are going to give him the benefit of the doubt for now. Despite his overall shaky play, Nery showed enough to rpove that he is a quality player, and he will definitely make his mark on the team in both tournaments. He is the fastest forward Mexico has. He has an excellent outside shot. He is willing to pass the ball to the open man. Overall, I would rate his performance a 7 on a scale of 1-10.

Andres Guardado Lost in the Nery lovefest was the flinty performance of Andres Guradado. Watching him play, handle the media, comport himself shows that Guardado has all of the essential tools to be a great footballer on and off the pitch. There is no question this kid has a very near future in Europe, the only question is what team will he be joining. The Arsenal rumor seems to carry the most weight right now. How is Guardado handling his hype? “I will deal with all of that after my obliagtions with the national team are over. It is all about the Tri right now.” What focus. It was his centering pass that led to Mexico’s 3rd goal, which was headed in by Kikin Fonseca. “It was guardado’s goal.” kikin Said, “Al I did was push it in.”

In fairness to Iran, they only fielded one player who was on the pitch in Nuremberg last June. They did have glimmers of brilliance, but they were overmatched by a stronger, more experienced team. Up next for Mexico is another date with Paraguay, whom they beat 2-1 a few months ago in Monterrey. The game will be played at the Azteca, Tuesday, 9:00 PM CDT, on Telemundo (US).