MEXICO CITY — Following a best-ever World Cup group stage run for Mexico featuring three consecutive victories, head coach Javier Aguirre noted that he has no intention of resting on his laurels just yet.
“At the end of the day, the important thing is to win, and it would also be wonderful if we could score, play well, and win. I think that the [record] numbers are shaping up the way that they are… now I have to adjust, then keep on doing things little by little, step by step, because tomorrow is a different thing,” Aguirre said after Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Czechia at the Estadio Azteca.
“I am not going to think about the past; I am going to think about the future. This is something that we have improved. It’s a mindset where we don’t stop and think that we’ve already done our work, and that that was the end.”
With nine points in hand, Aguirre and Mexico have cemented their place at the top of Group A and await a round-of-32 opponent, to be determined, for a June 30 clash back at the Estadio Azteca.
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Mexico is undefeated at nine World Cup matches at the massive stadium, which was packed with 80,824 fans on Wednesday. El Tri has only two losses at Azteca, most recently in World Cup qualifying against Honduras on Sept. 6, 2013.
Aguirre, who is taking charge of his country’s national team for a third time, also brushed aside praise regarding this World Cup milestone in his career.
“I think that you learn from your mistakes. I’ve made many mistakes throughout my career, and I will certainly make many more in what remains of it, because you never stop learning. But I am very serene, and I am also very mature,” the El Tri coach said.
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Like other matches involving Mexico in the group stage, the road to three victories hasn’t been easy, featuring numerous tightly contested battles. Against South Korea in their second group game, Mexico narrowly sneaked past with a second-half game-winner from Luis Romo. Against Czechia, they were held scoreless until the halftime whistle.
“I would say this was a good night for us, but I did not like the first few minutes of the match. You see that the Czech team approached our goal and they attempted a shot, but then we adjusted and were able to score.”
In each of those games, local fans in Mexico City and Guadalajara had no hesitations about booing and jeering the team during the midway breaks.
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“You know the fans are very demanding, and players have to stand tall and they cannot lose their concentration. They just have to keep their cool and their emotional balance; they shouldn’t be too proud when people are cheering for them, or discouraged when people are booing them,” the coach said.
Nonetheless, seeing himself as more of a “grandfatherly” figure to his players, Aguirre has noted a buy-in from a squad expected to have a strong defensive base. Part of this preparation includes national team and Barcelona legend Rafa Márquez, who is on board as Aguirre’s assistant.
” [Márquez and my staff] help me very, very much. These are people that I love dearly, and we are just so united. We have had hurdles, and there will be bad times as well, but we will be standing together,” Aguirre said.
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The 3-0 win against Czechia is Mexico’s 2nd largest margin of victory in a World Cup match. It’s only victory with a larger margin was in 1970 vs El Salvador (4-0).
Information from ESPN Global Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.
