Mexico did their part to complete a day of World Cup playoff routs, using Wednesday’s visit from New Zealand to take a huge step toward Brazil 2104. With goals from Paul Aguilar, Raul Jiménez, Oribe Peralta (two), and Rafa Marquez, El Tri took a 5-1 win out of Estadio Azteca, earning a commanding lead ahead of next week’s return leg in Wellington.
Earlier today, Uruguay won 5-0 in Amman, leaving Jordan with slim hopes of reaching their first World Cup ahead of next week’s match in Montevideo. Combined with the lopsided result in Mexico City, two spots in the 2014 World Cup are all but claimed before the playoffs’ second legs.
[MORE: Uruguay blasts Jordan 5-0 to take insurmountable lead home]
The hosts dominated from the opening moments, holding near 80 percent of the match’s possession throughout the first half. That advantage saw Mexico nearly go up in the 18th minute, when an acrobatic volley from Raúl Jiménez forced Glen Moss into a save from inside his own goal. The All Whites keeper’s extended arms met the shot at the goal line, temporarily keeping his team even.
Mexico went close again in the 24th minute when Francisco Rodríguez, one of seven Club América players in Miguel Herrera’s starting lineup, nailed the crossbar with a shot from distance. Rarely allowing the ball into their own half, Mexico’s dominance left them destined to claim the lead.
That destiny came to fruition in the 32nd minute, with Moss’s ill-fated run off his line leading to a collision with Peralta, keeping the New Zealand keeper on the ground as Aguilar redirected a failed clearance into the All Whites’ goal. Eight minutes later, Jiménez headed home the corner he’d forced, sending Mexico into halftime up two.
Less than three minutes into the second half, Peralta scored the first of his two goals, running onto a ball sent across the top of the six-yard box by Miguel Layun, a long pass from Marquez having put Mexico’s left wingback behind the defense. Leaving Moss no chance for another save, the Santos striker put his team up three.
A similar play produced Mexico’s fourth goal in the 80th minute, with a diagonal ball from Marquez finding Layun down the left. The ensuing cross found Peralta, who put his header into the upper left hand corner to make it 4-0. Four minutes later, a corner headed into the right of goal by Marquez briefly gave Mexico a 5-0 lead.
One minute later, El Tri committed their only slip of the match, a cross headed toward their spot by New Zealand’s Rory Fallon volleyed past Moises Muñóz by Chris James, bringing the visitors back within four.
That goal is unlikely to matter on Tuesday. Where New Zealand had come to Azteca intent on holding out for a nil-nil, the All Whites will have to summon four goals on their return to Wellington.
Playing their own game, it was going to be a long shot to beat Mexico. Now, having been forced from their comfort zone, New Zealand’s hopes of qualifying for a second straight World Cup are all but vanquished.