@GalloisinFrance looks at a memorable night against Mexico.
In a game full of high tempo and intensity, it was a fitting outcome to celebrate Gunter’s 100th cap as Cymru cooled Mexico’s “spicy gêm” courtesy of an efficient finish from Mr. Ballon d’Or.
Tough test
Mexico boasted a team with twice the experience at international level than Cymru, were ranked 9th in the world prior to this game and are the reigning CONCACAF champions of the North American region. After defeat on Wednesday vs Belgium, with avoidable mistakes and evidence of fatigue amongst players, all were questioning this ‘meaningless’ friendly sandwiched between 2 key qualifiers in an already busy season.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut we were treated to a real entertaining encounter. Those watching could have been fooled otherwise that this was a qualifier or even a knock out game, such was the pace of the play, harrying and hunger for the ball from both sides.
Positive Cymru performance
The plaudits will be singing the praises of Matt Smith and Levitt who were outstanding in the centre of the park, playing with guile and intelligence to thwart the Mexican play and limit them to avoid this area and try to exploit the channels. In particular, Smith showed great progress in his play and potential to be a force for Wales in future. Cabango also had a solid game at centre back, though put under initial stress and worry after a Mexico foray into the box that resulted in a questionable penalty shout against him; he put himself about, wasn’t afraid of a tackle and showed why he has been an important part of Swansea’s defence this season and deserves to be in the Wales squad.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut more importantly, the work rate and effort of Tyler Roberts in particular, cannot be ignored. He pressured, hounded and played an important part in the build up to Kieffer’s winner in the 11th minute. Exactly what we’ve wanted to see as fans and hope to see more of in the future. (Perhaps he read the Y Gêm Wlad preview and wanted to do everything to prove us wrong!)
Frustration for La Seleción
The Mexicans displayed the same attacking vigour as we saw at the Rose Bowl in 2018, (diolch, you know who you are!), which accumulated in much frustration towards the end of the game on their part as they failed to create clear cut chances and break down the Welsh defensive resolve. They enjoyed 76% possession but only managed 3 shots on target from 9.
There were a few hand bag moments at the end as tempers flared, with even Bale getting involved with (potentially) some choice words in Spanish. Mexican fans on Twitter were left frustrated by the sides lack of a clear number 9, the absence of Raul Jimenez who watched on in the stands, and with Wales’ defensive display to shut down Mexico’s attack. A lot of anger was also directed at the fact that they lost to a Wales “B team”…..
Embed from Getty ImagesStrength in depth – finally?
After the Belgian game and before the game against the Czechs on Tuesday, the changes were rung by Page / Giggs, with much needed game time given to players who have been knocking on the door for a place in the team and especially who will want to show their potential for inclusion in the Euro’s squad.
The level of collective and individual performances in this game will be pleasing for the Cymru management team as well as for fans, who were quietly expecting to be totally over run by this strong Mexican team. This performance perhaps marks a significant shift in the perception of depth in the Wales squad and the talent we have coming through. It was a mixture of first team regulars and those on the fringes, so it doesn’t merit the label of “B Team” but it shows we are finally moving away from our over reliance on individuals to always be fit to stand a chance of beating sides ; we have a squad full of talent and great potential who are eager to impress and play in the shirt coch of Cymru.
Embed from Getty ImagesA real Gunter Performance
There were lots of gasps among fans when looking at the team sheet of inclusions and exclusions prior to the game (Moore starting another friendly, Lawrence and J. Williams as wing backs and Hennessy in goal), whilst we feared a walk over.
Yet Cymru played with a passion and calmness, akin to that consistently displayed by our captain centurion: professional, concentrated and determined to see out an important, moral boosting win.
Now, bring on the Czechs.
photo credit (opening image) Steindy (talk) 16:10, 10 November 2016 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons