Mexico suffered a crushing 4-0 defeat to Colombia in its first pleasant of the October worldwide break, leaving a poor impression forward of the 2026 World Cup. One of many recreation’s key moments noticed James Rodríguez take heart stage, delivering a pointy message to the Mexico gamers in the course of the match.
Followers from each nations packed AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for a recreation that shortly tilted in Colombia’s favor. Within the sixteenth minute, Jhon Lucumí related a cross from Rodríguez to open the scoring, setting the tone for what would grow to be a dominant efficiency from Los Cafeteros. Nevertheless, as Mexico pushed for an equalizer, controversy struck.
Late within the first half, with Colombia nonetheless main 1-0, a number of Mexico gamers, together with Santiago Giménez, Diego Lainez, César Montes, and Jorge Sánchez, surrounded referee Ismail Elfath to protest a attainable penalty. Regardless of the heated appeals, VAR finally dominated towards El Tri, prompting a response from Rodríguez.
Because the state of affairs settled, James Rodríguez, who was close by throughout the dispute, approached the referee to precise his frustration with Mexico’s perspective. Cameras clearly caught the Colombian star saying, “They speak an excessive amount of,” in reference to the Mexican gamers’ persistent complaints over the choice.
James Rodriguez #10 of Colombia is marked by Johan Vasquez #5 of Mexico.
The change ended there, however within the second half, Rodríguez and Colombia shifted into one other gear. Mexico struggled to threaten David Ospina’s objective, and the match resulted in a lopsided 4-0 scoreline. Ultimately, James’ remark appeared to seize extra about Mexico’s mindset than their play on the sector.
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An upsetting defeat for Mexico
Following their 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup conquer the USMNT, Mexico head coach Javier Aguirre sought to schedule high-level friendlies as preparation for the 2026 World Cup. However after back-to-back attracts towards Japan and South Korea in September, the heavy loss to Colombia marked a serious setback.
On the post-match press convention, Aguirre provided a blunt self-assessment: “From our efficiency, there are some issues we are able to take away — when it comes to our play with the ball. I believe all 4 objectives had been avoidable. We have to discover ways to compete higher; we are able to’t be so uncompetitive in sure phases of the sport.“
With out naming names, the veteran coach additionally despatched a transparent message to his gamers. “I’m the primary one accountable, and I settle for that, however there are some issues I’ll handle privately with sure gamers as a result of we are able to’t cease competing. Over the course of 90 minutes, there have been gamers who didn’t stay as much as the usual. The one factor that issues is the outcome,” he acknowledged.
