The El Tri goalkeeper made history by saving a penalty from Lewandowski; Mexico has not lost in its World Cup debut since the United States in 1994.
With a penalty save from Guillermo Ochoa to Robert Lewandowski , Mexico drew 0-0 against Poland in its debut in Qatar 2022 and with it added seven consecutive World Cups without losing in its first game.
The Mexican team was very close to leaving with the advantage at halftime, but was unable to define their chances after the first half ended with more than 60 percent possession of the ball.
‘ Tata’ Martino resolved his doubts and started with Edson Álvarez , Héctor Herrera and Luis Chávez in midfield, with Carlos Rodríguez being sacrificed. While Henry Martín won the race from Rogelio Funes Mori.
Alexis Vega , who burst into tears at the moment of hearing the Mexican national anthem , was the most unbalancing player of the Tri and in the first 45 minutes he had two clear chances to break the zero in the 974 Stadium that had a Mexican majority.
The Chivas striker finished off two services down the right wing; the first of ‘Chucky’ Lozano ‘s feet that Vega passed and failed to connect correctly despite the fact that he was unmarked, and the second to HH ‘s center that hit him with a great header and passed centimeters from Wojciech ‘s left post Szczęsny , Juventus star.
Luis Chávez ‘s left foot shone in a World Cup and with an extraordinary through pass to Jesús Gallardo Mexico again caused damage, but Szczęsny managed to deflect and Gallardo stretched the ball which gave the Polish defense time to recover to cut the danger .
Robert Lewandowski was contained by the good positioning of the Mexican defense in the first half, but in the second half, El Tri made a mistake at the start and the power of the Barcelona striker was noted as he was on the brink of gaining possession from Héctor inside the area Moreno to go hand in hand with Memo Ochoa.
The tension was present in the 974 Stadium by the Mexican fans and it is that the referee reviewed the play in the VAR for a pull from Moreno to Lewandowski . In the end, he whistled the maximum penalty.
Ochoa vs. Lewandowski. The América goalkeeper vs. the Barcelona striker. The El Tri goalkeeper did his thing and, like every four years, he shone again on the highest stage of soccer when he guessed the shot at the Pole to save Mexico from going down on the scoreboard.
Guillermo Ochoa made history in Qatar 2022, in addition to attending his fifth World Cup to tie the maximum record , he also became the second Mexican goalkeeper to save a penalty in a World Cup after Óscar Bonfiglio in Uruguay 1930 against Argentina, according to Data from Oscar Guevara , from TUDN .
Henry Martín almost scored a Jared Borgetti -style goal in Korea-Japan 2002 combing the ball after a cross from Edson that was very close to surprising an attentive Szczęsny who managed to react.
Despite the great moment that Ochoa starred in, the Mexican team lowered its intensity and no longer showed the dynamism it had in the first half.
Seeking to revolutionize the game, ‘Tata’ Martino brought on Raúl Jiménez and Carlos Rodríguez for Henry Martín and Herrera at minute 71, while Uriel Antuna entered for Vega at 84′.
Jiménez, who is coming off groin pain, showed that he does not have the right rhythm for a World Cup after he missed a great opportunity on a counter-attack, as the Polish defense easily took the ball from him when he could have cut back for a shot or ceded the ball to Chucky who entered from the right sector.
With the goalless draw, El Tri has not lost in a World Cup since the United States 1994 with a record of five wins and two draws since France 1998 .
Mexico will risk their lives on November 26 when they face Argentina , who also need to win to qualify for the Round of 16 after surprisingly losing 1-2 to Saudi Arabia in their debut .
