The Chilean national team closed its North American tour with a 2-0 win over Mexico at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, United States. After the match, coach Nicolás Córdova described the victory as "the qualitative leap we had to make."
As reported by La Tercera, the coach from Talca came into this friendly under scrutiny after back-to-back defeats to Canada and the United States. The match drew 56,529 spectators, according to G5 Noticias.
The goals came in the second half. Maximiliano Gutiérrez opened the scoring in the 55th minute: he received a pass between the lines, got past Israel Reyes and finished as goalkeeper Alex Padilla came off his line. In the 64th minute, Vicente Pizarro, a Rosario Central midfielder, doubled the lead on a counterattack, taking advantage of a Mexican defensive mismatch after the substitutions.
The first half was even, with long spells of possession and few chances. Chile lined up with five defenders and shut down the attacking patterns of the team coached by Rafael Márquez, the former Barcelona defender, whose side is now four games without a win in his new tenure.
"It was a very tight game, we set it up well, the boys executed what we asked of them very well. We generated very quick transitions, we knew they were going to push up," Córdova explained at a press conference.
The coach detailed the tactical plan. "We have three forwards who are faster and attack the space in behind very well. We alternated very high pressing with less high pressing, so that when we won the ball we would have space to run," he said. Both goals came from recoveries.
He also revealed his halftime talk. "At halftime I told them this is the closest thing to a qualifying match. Playing away, a stadium with a lot of people," he said. He also warned that more positional games lie ahead, against deep-sitting opponents, which will demand different structures.
On individual players, Córdova said he was not surprised by Gutiérrez, who scored again after his goal against the United States: "We gave him his debut in the September FIFA window, a year ago, against Brazil." He praised Diego Ulloa as the third center-back, even though he plays full-back at Colo-Colo, and also mentioned Jonathan Villagra and Pizarro.
The coach addressed the outside pressure during the week. "The players are often a little more affected by it than we are. They are 20-year-old kids who are just entering this orbit of the national team," he said.
Taking stock, he admitted that in terms of results "perhaps we didn't win as much as one would hope." He recalled that against Canada the team played with players sent off, and that against the United States it competed well until 2-2, when it "dropped off completely." The coaching staff will carry out an individual review of each player upon returning to Santiago, he announced.
