Mexico humbled by Colombia in friendly

Photo: Ziro Castellanos

Mexico 0-4 Colombia

ARLINGTON, TX–As co-hosts and automatic qualifiers for next year’s Men’s World Cup, Mexico, USA, and Canada need these friendlies to experiment and test themselves against teams they may potentially face in roughly eight months’ time. For Mexico, Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing by Colombia at AT&T Stadium proves a tough lesson. It is the worst loss in a year and the worst under Javier Aguirre’s third stint as Mexico manager.

Colombia got on the board first in the 16th minute as James Rodriguez’s free kick from the side was put in by Jhon Lucumi. Luis Malagon looked uncertain in goal as he decided to stay on his line instead of challenging Lucumi. That would be all the scoring in the first half, but more would come in the second.

James was again the provider in the 56th minute as the ex-Bayern Munich player sent a thru-ball to current Bayern player Luis Diaz who flicked the ball past Malagon to make it 2-0. Eight minutes later, a failed clearance went to the feet of Jefferson Lerma and he would power it home on the volley to make it 3-0. One more goal would be scored in the 87th minute as Malagon again was hesitant to challenge a ball. This time, it was a long ball in which Malagon was beat by Johan Carbonero who slotted it into an empty net.

Photo: Eric Guzman

Mexico will look to regroup on Tuesday when they play Ecuador in Guadalajara (9:30pm CT).

Photos by Ziro Castellanos and Eric Guzman.