DALLAS, Texas – Sunday’s 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Group A finale between Mexico and El Salvador should make for an entertaining spectacle, especially with first place in the group on the line. It pits two teams that like to maintain possession, play quickly and create advantages in winning 1v1 battles.
With a slight smile, Mexico GK Alfredo Talavera said that El Salvador’s attacking style should benefit Mexico’s equally aggressive approach.
“I think the one-on-ones will be decisive because El Salvador is a team that comes out to play, to attack and possess the ball, and I think it will benefit us that they attack us because we can play a looser football,” said Talavera in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.
“Going against teams who play defensive is much harder, but against teams that like to go toe-to-toe, Mexico likes to play against those types of teams and it should make for an attractive game,” said Talavera.
After two clean sheet results against Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala in which his back line was rarely tested, Mexico Head Coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino is warmly welcoming a sturdier test for his defense.
“We have to adjust our mindset and firm things up more because El Salvador is a team that will attack a lot more than Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala, so we will need to be more careful especially, when they launch on the counterattack. They can take advantage of space, so in some way we are going to play a game to see if our defense is as solid as they’ve shown in the first two games,” said Martino to Concacaf.com.
El Salvador MF Darwin Ceren is no stranger to facing Mexico, having gone against El Tricolor many times in Concacaf competition. The chance for La Selecta to register a first ever Gold Cup win over Mexico after three previous defeats is motivation enough to try to make Sunday a night to remember.
“We know that Mexico is always a tough opponent, but at the same time it’s an opponent you get motivated to face. Our team is very motivated and we’re happy with what we’ve done so far, but we’re eager to face Mexico and eager to win that game. It’s an opportunity to change history,” said Ceren to Concacaf.com.
Similar to his counterpart Martino, El Salvador Head Coach Hugo Perez feels like he’ll have a much clearer idea of how much his team has progressed by how they perform against the reigning Gold Cup champions.
“I think the most important thing for us is that we keep doing what we’re doing and keeping the idea of how we want to play,” said Perez to Concacaf.com. “Mexico we know is the best in Concacaf, so for us it’s going to be a big test to see how far we’ve come,” concluded Perez.
