Mexico National Team won, but it wasn’t thanks to Gerardo Martino

Mexico National Team barely managed to beat Panama MNT in Estadio Azteca on Wednesday night with a goal via penalty kick at 80’ that Raúl Jiménez masterfully scored, waiting until the last second to fool Panamá goalkeeper, Luis Ricardo Mejía.

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“Chucky” Lozano left the  game injured, but is it a serious injury?

El Tri started the game the same way as they always do, having some good plays, becoming dangerous at times, but never managing to score. They had a couple of opportunities during the first half, but nothing transpired.

For the second half, it became obvious that El Tri needed to make changes in order to shake things up on the pitch, as Panama looked more fierceful, but it wasn’t until Hirving Lozano was injured, that Martino made the first subs.

During the broadcasting, there was a moment where Martino clearly was arguing with his assistant coach, Jorge Teillier, who ultimately convinced “Tata” to give “Tecatito” Corona, Julián Araujo and Diego Lainez some playing time.

Why does Martino refuses to make substitutions?

Since his arrival as Mexico National Team coach, Martino has been consistent on his lack of substitutions during the game, something that has been criticized lately as the players he starts don’t really generate dangerous plays. Luckily, this time he listened to Teillier and gave Lainez some playing time, as he was the one who received the foul that led to the lone goal.

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Julián Araujo had to start the game on the bench, thanks to Martino’s decisions