Mexico’s Martino on Canada: “They’re a better team”

HOUSTON, Texas – In the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup, Mexico and Canada squared off in a group stage battle in Denver, Colorado in which El Tricolor emerged with a 3-1 win thanks in part to an Andres Guardado brace.

Now they two sides will meet again in the Gold Cup, this time in the semifinals on Thursday night at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

The Canada team that will take the field on Thursday will be different than the one that fell in Denver two years ago, with Mexico Head Coach Gerardo Martino expecting a much improved Canada.

“They have a cycle that has now had a lot of continuity,” said Martino in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.

“There is a coach that has been accumulating years, accumulating work and accumulating knowledge of the squad, fine-tuning ideas and that always means there is progress. We expect to find a much better team from a tactical perspective, better from an individual standpoint, better in all aspects of play from the one we played two years ago,” added Martino.

The belief is also shared by the Mexican players, namely MF Edson Alvarez, who played in that group stage encounter two years ago. Alvarez was wary of thinking that he and his teammates would be seeing a similar approach from Canada.

“In two years, a lot of things can happen. In two years, teams change, get new players and try to update themselves, so I would be lying to you if I said that we expect a similar game to the one two years ago,” said Alvarez in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com. “Many things can happen. We have to be focused on today, on the approach of our players here today. We expect a different game than the one two years ago.”

Some of the new faces in the Canada team that Mexico did not see in Denver in 2019 are MF Stephen Eustaquio and winger Tajon Buchanan. Both players have contributed greatly to Canada’s success in the current tournament, and Martino knows his team will have to counter the Canadian pair’s strengths.

“One is much more involved in the run of play, one of the pillars in how they create, which is Eustaquio, including on set pieces with the ball at his feet. The other, Buchanan, a winger who they sometimes use on a line of five, or as a winger with three forwards up top. He’s agile, he’s a player that can pierce defenses and do damage for the Canada team,” concluded Martino.