Argentine Diego Cocca, Mexico coach, acknowledged Thursday that Suriname, 139 in the FIFA ranking, was a difficult rival and has work to do after beating it 0-2 in the Concacaf Nations League.
“Today we won against a difficult rival and we have many conclusions to draw, but the key is that when all the games are over, we have growth and I have no doubt that it will be like that,” said the coach at a press conference.
In his first game in charge of the tri, Cocca guided Mexico to a victory over Suriname, with a goal from Johan Vásquez and an own goal from Damil Dankerlui.
Although Suriname is out of the top 10 in Concacaf, in the first half it was better than Mexico, which the Mexican coach accepted, with praise for his opponent.
“It was an interesting match, with an opponent who has speed at the highest level and required us to make good decisions, not to be left in a bad light, because the offensive transitions they have are impressive,” he said.
The strategist revealed that at halftime he talked with his players and that influenced a better performance in the second half in which they signed the victory.
“In the second half they came out a little differently, they understood how to resolve the game, that’s what we’re learning together and we’re all trying to have the same idea. So they understood it, they resolved it, and we won. It’s always important start winning,” he concluded.
With the victory, Mexico reached two victories, one draw and seven points and took the leadership of group A of the League of Nations, ahead of Jamaica, with five points, and Suriname, with one.
Mexico will host Jamaica at the Azteca stadium next Sunday, in the team’s first match at home, with Cocca as coach.
The strategist was chosen to guide Mexico to the 2026 World Cup, after the failure in Qatar 2022, where the team, led by Argentine Gerardo Martino, was eliminated in the group stage, after seven consecutive World Cups in the round of 16.
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