Mexico 1-0 Jamaica takeaways: Alvarez’s agony, Arteaga strikes

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A wonderful left-foot strike from Gerardo Arteaga, drilled low and hard across goal from just outside the box, gave Mexico a winning start at Copa America.

El Tri recovered from the loss of West Ham United midfielder Edson Alvarez in the first half after the Mexico captain limped off in agony, having fallen to the ground unchallenged clasping his left hamstring.

A very quiet NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas was made to wait for the start of the second half as Mexico took their time to re-join Jamaica on the field.

But it was Jamaica who were quicker out of the blocks, with Michail Antonio scoring his side’s first Copa America goal with a downward header, only for it to be disallowed for offside after a video assistant referee (VAR) review.

After both sides made changes, it was left-back Arteaga who sealed the points for Mexico. Job done and time to move on — albeit potentially without their captain.

Stuart James and Thom Harris dissect the key talking points…

How big a loss was Alvarez for Mexico?

It was a sad sight and a hugely worrying one for the entire Mexico team. Chasing a Jamaica counter-attack led by Demarai Gray, and with the game less than half an hour old, Alvarez fell to the floor in agony, the Mexico captain clutching his left hamstring in a way that generally only means only one thing: his Copa America is over.

Understandably emotional, Alvarez was consoled by Jamaica players as well as his own team-mates as he was helped off the pitch by two members of Mexico’s medical staff, pain and anguish etched across his face. It was notable that every player on the Mexico substitutes’ bench stepped forward to comfort him.

“We’re going to wait a few days to do some testing on him and to know well what he’s got going on,” Mexico coach Jaime Lozano said. “He felt something in his foot and we made the decision to take him out.”

Alvarez leaves the pitch in visible pain (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Only 24 hours earlier, Alvarez had spoken so impressively at the pre-match press conference about the wider sense of responsibility he felt to guide and support a callow Mexico team. He told a story about the recent 4-0 defeat against Uruguay and how “the locker room was like a wake” afterwards. Alvarez went around every player in turn to pick them up.

“It’s not because I wear an armband now. It’s part of my essence. I think they (the players) can see a role model in me,” he said.

How they will cope without him now is a huge question. Linked with a move to Manchester United this summer, the midfielder is irreplaceable in this Mexico side in terms of his qualities and leadership.

GO DEEPER

Edson Alvarez the 'Machin' - 'Mexico's most important player'

Stuart James

A Mexico goal from an unlikely source…

Two, four and 13. Following generational change throughout the Mexican roster, those were the international goal tallies of Mexico’s starting front three.

Without Raul Jimenez or Hirving Lozano, all eyes were on a new pair of tricky wingers and an exciting young striker. Julian Quinones recently completed his naturalisation process to become a Mexican citizen, and has hit double figures in each of his last three seasons in Liga MX, while Santiago Gimenez bundled home 51 goals and registered 12 assists in his last two seasons at Dutch side Feyenoord. Despite relative inexperience, there are goals at the top of this team.

Mexico approached their build-up as they always do; a holding midfielder receiving the ball from the centre-backs and looking to find two advanced No 8s behind the opposition midfield line. But Jamaica blocked out the centre well, and made passes into Luis Chavez and Orbelin Pineda difficult to find.

There were times that Mexico looked a little flat, the front three struggling to time their runs in behind. It meant that Gimenez had just 16 touches before being hooked, with just one display of his striking potential — a stepover and near-post shot — to show for his 68 minutes.

As the game progressed, Mexico looked more dangerous, but even then, their best opportunities came from long-distance strikes from the crisp left-foot of Chavez, or moments of inspiration from players receiving the ball in front of the Jamaican defence.

They will definitely take the three points, but their winning goal, struck by left-back Arteaga from the edge of the box, hinted at a team looking for attacking inspiration elsewhere.

(Omar Vega/Getty Images)

There is a feeling that Mexico can click into another gear.

Thom Harris

Did Heimir Hallgrimsson’s tactical gamble pay off?

In the hour leading up to kick-off, Jamaica’s line-up did not quite make sense.

Three central defenders and two wing-backs? As expected. But Shamar Nicholson, Antonio, Gray and Bobby De Cordova-Reid? Where would all those forwards fit?

As it turned out, Jamaica manager Hallgrimsson’s plan was much the same as it has always been; a 5-2-3 without the ball, covering the width of the pitch and looking to hit quickly on the break. The courageous twist was moving De Cordova-Reid into midfield, where he has never played before for Jamaica.

(Getty Images)

In the build-up to Copa America, centre-back Damion Lowe looked to have made the engine room his own, praised as a “warrior” by his manager after he made nine tackles against the United States in a 3-1 Nations League defeat. What the 31-year-old brought in defensive solidity, however, he lacked in technical quality, completing just 43 per cent of his passes and losing the ball 26 times.

De Cordova-Reid ability to move the ball forward more quickly and accurately helped Jamaica to launch some of their most promising attacks in the first half. He swerved an inch-perfect ball for Antonio on 29 minutes before causing a moment of goalkeeping uncertainty with a long ball into Nicholson five minutes later. As his pass map shows, he looked to be progressive wherever he could.

Mexico did not test the Fulham forward’s defensive capabilities too much — their opening goal came moments after a raft of substitutions moved him back out to the wing — but Hallgrimsson’s positive approach set the tone for an open, end-to-end game.

Thom Harris

A quiet night for Mexico?

It was a strangely subdued night at NRG Stadium for long periods, on the pitch and in the stands, where you found yourself wondering 20 minutes before kick-off how many of the rows of empty seats would be filled. Not enough was the answer.

On the face of it, that seems surprising for a Mexico game that is taking place in Houston. In reality there are legitimate questions to be asked about the cost of tickets and whether everyone would have benefitted from significantly lowering the prices and packing the stadium (the cheapest available seat the day before the game was $175).

The crowd was announced as 53,673 but it did not feel like that. A game that was a slow-burner did not help.

Stuart James

What did the managers say?

Jamaica manager Hallgrimsson: “I’m biased but I thought the game was entertaining. First half, maybe like expected Mexico had more of the ball but we created some really good chances in counter-attacks and set pieces. We limited their chances with shots from outside, sadly they scored from one. That 10-15 minute chapter when they scored we were really struggling, I don’t know why. We dropped deep. But I’m really proud of the players, we gave them a tough match. We need to protect the ball better when we have it and that is something we will improve. But overall I’m quite happy with the game. We can take a lot from it and build on it going forward in the tournament.

“Unfair and disrespectful” — Hallgrimsson on Mexico delaying the start of the second half by coming out of their dressing room late.

“It’s tough. It is what it is.” — Hallgrimsson on the state of the playing surface at NRG Stadium.

Mexico manager Lozano: “Togetherness and staying united has been one of the themes of this summer for us. It’s not easy to stay together after your captain goes out so quickly in such a big tournament…But they bounced back quickly and we were looking at all times for that goal.”

What’s next for each team?

Group B resumes on Wednesday, June 26.

Ecuador vs. Jamaica at 6:00 p.m. ET/11:00 p.m. UK (Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada)
Venezuela vs. Mexico at 9:00 p.m. ET/02:00 on Thursday, June 27 UK (SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California)