Wolves Jimenez scores and stars for Mexico as coach Martino wins on debut

by Steve Clare and Dan Gaichas

All the headlines on this side of the Atlantic will be about Gerardo “Tata” Martino who secured an outstanding result in his first match as head coach of the Mexican National side.

His first Seleccíon beat Chile 3-1 at the former San Diego Chargers Stadium in San Diego, California. There were many outstanding individual performances however. At left back, Tigres Luis Rodríguez looked excellent in a position that has previously been an issue for El Tri.

Real Sociedad’s Hector Moreno was in the right place at the right time on more than one occasion in the first half to keep the Chileans scoreless and of course the veteran Andres Guardado showed leadership in his role wearing the captain’s armband.

But as Mexico move away from an era when their talisman were either called Rafa Marquez and Chicharito, their legions of fans are looking for new heroes. Wolverhampton’s Raul Jimenez looks a good bet to fill the podium that the fading Chicharito will inevitably leave as his international career begins to wind down.

Chile 1 : 3 Mexico Match Gallery from San Diego

Martino wins on debut as Mexico coach as Chile fall 3-1

Chicharto has made 22 starts in the EPL this season for West Ham, but ten of them have been from the bench. Marko Arnautović and Felipe Anderson have found favour ahead of him. Meanwhile in Wolverhampton, the striker who is still on loan  from Benfica, has started 29 matches for the Wolves, more than any other outfielder and tied with goalkeeper Rui Patricio.

Jimenez leads Wolves with 15 goals in all competitions and it has helped that his time in Portugal assists him to fit in a system with Portuguese players such as Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota. Wolves will certainly look to make the loan signing permanent at the end of the season and he just might be their best #9 since Steve Bull.

And as Nuno Espírito Santo and Manuel Pellegrini see things, so does Martino. He started the game against Chile and was a total standout for the 76 minutes he played before being replaced by the West ham striker, making yet another substitute appearance.

In that time, Jimenez was crucial in winning the game for Mexico. In a press box full of Mexican journalists, I may have been the dissenting voice in thinking the penalty awarded against Independiente’s Pedro Pablo Hernandez in the 52nd minute was harsh for what amounted to no more than a lean on Jimenez.

There was no doubt however about the cool with which he stroked the ball past Gabriel Arias to give Mexico the lead. That aside, he was a constant thorn in a Chlean side that included some world clas players such as Barcelona’s Arturo Vidal, Leverkusen’s Charles Aránguiz and Besiktas Gary Medel once of Inter Milan.

This was building off his fantastic Man of the Match performance against Manchester United in the FA Cup quarterfinal where he scored the opening goal as he helps Wolves towards at least a top ten finish in the Premier League and maybe even the FA Cup itself.