Football
ESPN staff 9y

Miguel Herrera says Mexico lacked concentration in loss to Belarus

Mexico coach Miguel Herrera could not hide his anger after Belarus ended El Tri's five-game unbeaten streak on Tuesday with a 3-2 friendly win.

Raul Jimenez twice put Mexico in front but Belarus responded swiftly on both occasions. Sergei Kislyak scored on the rebound after a penalty before debutant Nikolai Signevich headed in Belarus' second equalizer.

Mexico struggled in sub-zero conditions at the Borisov Arena and went down to an 81st-minute goal from Pavel Nyakhaychyk.

Herrera stressed that the freezing temperatures were not to blame for the defeat, saying that Mexico did not play as a team.

"A group that gets distracted easily looks nothing like a team. It was a match with many mistakes, with indifference, before a rival that never stopped running, never stopped trying," said Herrera. "We didn't concentrate, and didn't have the composure that a Mexico team should have."

Herrera said he would evaluate the performance of each player before deciding who would be included in future matches.

"All the matches count, and we evaluate each player after each match. We observe what criteria the players meet and what they don't. But I didn't like our attitude. This was a match we should have taken advantage of, and we were overconfident, we made mistakes we shouldn't have and all that was a result of not having the right attitude," he said.

The loss is Mexico's first since defeat losing to the Netherlands at the World Cup. Belarus, which is 89 places below Mexico in the FIFA rankings at 106th, had lost its previous three matches.

"We can't be happy with so much lack of concentration and mistakes," Herrera said. "The other team made the effort to beat us and we didn't react. Our goalkeeper deflected the shot and our players just stood there, without even trying to complete the play or help the goalkeeper. And then afterward, Talavera had to put the ball to one side because no player came forth to get it. They were all just staring. There were so many errors by the defense, even though those in front played a bit better."

Assistant coach Santiago Banos said the officiating was not to blame in the least for Mexico's performance on the pitch.

"No, you can't even say that," Banos said. "We were to blame. We can't play like that."

PSV Eindhoven winger Andres Guardado said Mexico was too complacent

"We can't play this way, that is not how you defend the Mexico shirt," said Guardado, who came on in the second half. "We weren't paying attention, we weren't careful and we didn't have have the level of concentration needed at key moments in the match and we allowed our rival to beat us. If the opponent is superior, well then it is understandable, but in this case, we allowed them to grow."

Guardado said El Tri underestimated Belarus and was overconfident going into the friendly.

"We need to be responsible, all the time, no matter who we play. Mexico can't underestimate anyone and much less a European squad, which showed how you must fight to win matches of any kind."

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