A Gritty Mexican Team Advances to Next Stage in World Cup

Photo Credit: FIFA.com

By Francisco Romero

After all was said and done Mexico beat Croatia 3-1 to advance to the round of 16 in the World Cup. With a constant attack against a very talented Croatian team, Mexico broke lose in the second half as it scored three goals in a span of 10 minutes. 

All of a sudden Croatia’s players could not keep up with a very resilient Mexican squad.

El Tri’s Captain Rafael Marquez, in his fourth world cup, opened the score at the 72nd minute of play with a header. Andres Guardado and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez followed with goals of their own.

Ivan Perisic added a consolation goal for the Croats as the game ended.

Mexico needed a draw to advance, but as the players said all along, a win was a must to feel the sense of accomplishment and a win they got.

Mexico was clearly playing with a crowd advantage. A chant of “Cielito Lindo” (A popular Mexican folk song) was heard throughout the venue and the green colored shirts covered the stadium. On the other hand, a teary-eyed Croatian crowd watched their team fall apart as seconds turn into minutes toward the end of the match.

Mexico celebrated after the game, but the World Cup is not over as Mexico’s Coach Miguel Herrera stated, “There’s still room for improvement. We stayed calm and maintained our focus, that was the key to success.”



“After such a tight game we need to recover now. We had to fight hard but we performed as a team once again,” Said Mexico’s captain Rafael Marquez after the game.

Mexico and Brazil, from Group A, advance to the next round of World Cup play. Mexico will face the Netherlands next Sunday and Brazil will face Chile.