Following an inconsistent few years, in which Mexico has seen three different coaches and more than sixty players don the famous green jersey, El Tri has returned to less hectic times under former Atletico Madrid coach, Javier Aguirre, who has assembled a team of bright young talents and established stars, while seemingly restoring Mexico's waning confidence along the way.
Following the appointment of Aguirre, Team Mexico shot up from fifth to second place in the final six-team qualification group in the CONCACAF Zone – winning five games, tying one, and losing only one. Having safely made their way to the finals, it is now Mexico's main objective to play beyond the Round of 16, where El Tri has been eliminated in each of the previous four FIFA World Cup finals.
After easily defeating Belize with a minimum of effort in the second qualifying round, Mexico was drawn into the tough group of Jamaica, Canada, and Honduras in the following round. Coached at the time by Sven Goran Eriksson, El Tri struggled and only squeaked by in the fourth and final round on goal differential, just ahead of Jamaica. Mexico's erratic play continued into the final six-team round-robin group, beginning with a 2-0 defeat to Team USA before beating Costa Rica by the same score, but then losing 3-1 to Honduras. It was that last defeat which cost Eriksson his job, resulting in his being replaced by Aguirre, who stepped in under similar conditions en route to Korea/Japan 2002.
Once again, Aguirre transformed Mexico's fortunes when, despite beginning with a 2-1 loss in El Salvador, wins over each of their five group rivals followed, gaining El Tri admittance to the finals with one game to spare. After tying Trinidad and Tobago in their final match, the Mexican nationals ended in second place behind their eternal archrival, Team USA.
Lured from retirement by Aguirre, veteran playmaking forward Cuauhtemoc Blanco is probably the man Mexico needs to thank for their team's turnaround, as the extraordinarily talented 36-year-old not only became the face of a rejuvenated team, but helped younger players such as keeper Guillermo Ochoa, defender Efrain Juarez, and mid-fielders Andres Guardado and Giovani dos Santos, to find their best games as well. Along with defender Rafael Marquez, look for this to be nucleus of the team that will represent Mexico in South Africa.
