One of the main challengers for a spot in the Beijing Olympics concludes its preparations for CONCACAF qualifying on Thursday when Mexico's under-23 national team faces Finland at Pizza Hut Park.
In qualification for the 2004 Athens Games, Mexico won one of the two regional berths when it knocked off the USA on home soil in Guadalajara in the semifinals, ending a streak of five consecutive Olympics for the U.S. team.
Now Mexico must return the favor if they are to return to the Summer Games, winning a place on its arch-rival's soil when qualifying kicks off next week around the U.S. After coming off a 1-1 draw with Australia on Sunday at Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland, Mexico knows that to succeed in earning a trip to Beijing, they need to find the back of the net.
"We have to be able to score on our chances when they come," said Mexico midfielder Cesar Villaluz, who plays for Cruz Azul. "We know they (Finland) have a good team full of big, strong players. It's important that we continue playing the type of soccer we play and keep getting better."
Against Finland, Mexico is looking to score multiple goals for only the second time in their last four outings. But the one thing that all Mexico players agree on is that their recent lack of scoring is nothing to panic about.
"We have to be more efficient and take advantage of all of our opportunities," said Mexican forward Angel Landin of Morelia. "We have made some mistakes and need to keep working on things to get better and score goals."
Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa from Club America agrees.
"Up top, we have had a lot of chances and just need to be patient," Ochoa said. "You always have to work at scoring goals. As the team goes forward more, I think we will score more goals and things will be fine."
While some might feel that the bulk of responsibility for El Tri's current lack of scoring falls on the shoulders of their forwards, Landin begs to differ.
"We are all responsible (for scoring)," he said. "I have a lot of responsibility but everyone on the team also does. If we worked very hard like we did against Australia, not make mistakes or miss our chances, we will score some goals."
On Sunday, Mexico took an early 1-0 lead thanks to an own goal in the 18th minute. El Tri looked poised for the win until the Aussies netted the equalizer in the 87th minute.
The last time that Mexico scored more than one goal in their last four games was in a 2-0 win against Chile last month in Toluca. Since then, they have lost 1-0 to Ecuador and tied Paraguay 0-0 on Feb. 27 in Tijuana.
Still, Finland manager Stuart Baxter, who coached South Africa in the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, knows his side faces a tall order on Thursday evening.
"We know that Mexico is technically, a very good team," Baxter said. "They're good physically and technically. They're always technically good and tactically well-organized."
Making his side's task all the more difficult is the fact that on Thursday, Finland will field a squad featuring a mixture of players from their under-21 team and others in contention for the full national team.
"We've got a developmental squad, a mixture of the under-21s and a few more experienced players who have been on the fringe of the national team," Baxter said. "We know that it will be a very tough game. The performance will be as important as the result."
Despite their recent offensive struggles, one area where Mexico has been rock-solid has been defensively as they have allowed just two goals in their last four matches.
"Defensively, we look good," said Ochoa. "I think we are strong in the back. Defensively, we have played well."
Added midfielder Edgar Castillo of Santos: "We're playing well in the back and have only given up one goal in each of our last two games. The one against Australia came off a throw-in. We're playing well right now. Even though we tied in Oakland, we played well."
Mexico is in Group B in CONCACAF Olympic qualifying, which will take place at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Mexico begins play on March 12 against Canada; the group also includes Guatemala and Haiti. The top two teams in each four-team group advance to the semifinals, and the winners of those matches will automatically gain berths to the Beijing Games.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
