Chile's national team beat Mexico 0-2 at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, United States, with second-half goals from Maximiliano Gutiérrez and Vicente Pizarro. The defeat unleashed a wave of criticism from the Mexican press against its national team and against coach Rafa Márquez.
According to BioBioChile, Márquez, a former player and now coach of El Tri, closed the FIFA window with two draws and two defeats, his national team's worst start since 1960.
For Chile, the win provided some relief at the end of a North American tour that had brought defeats against Canada and the United States. It was the first victory for Nicolás Córdova's side on that trip.
The harshest criticism came from the website Mediotiempo, which lamented that Mexico had lost to "one of the worst versions of the Chilean national team". The piece summed up that Márquez ended his four-match series losing 2-0 in Los Angeles.
Excélsior described the close of the friendlies window as "disastrous". Récord ran the headline that Chile "exposes Mexico and closes a FIFA window to forget", using Chile's performance to highlight the home side's shortcomings.
The Mexican edition of Spanish daily Marca pointed straight at the bench: "Rafa Márquez closes his nightmare debut as coach on the road to the Nations League". AS México ran the headline "Márquez still hasn't woken up" and referred to the "post-Vidal-Alexis Chile", as reported by ADN Radio.
El Sol de Tijuana opted for humor, writing that "la furia roja spiced up the Mexican party in Los Angeles".
The matchup carries a loaded history. The two national teams have had the feel of a classic rivalry since the 7-0 thrashing Chile handed Mexico at the 2016 Copa América Centenario, ADN Radio recalls.
Márquez's next step, according to Marca, is the Concacaf Nations League, run by the confederation for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, where he will arrive under scrutiny after a window without a win.
