Andrés Guardado scored in the 53rd minute, and Mexico held on from there to defeat Angola, 1-0, Thursday at Reliant Stadium to wrap up its United States tour in front of an overwhelmingly pro-Mexico crowd of 70,099, the third largest crowd to watch a soccer game in Reliant Stadium history.
Mexico finished their U.S. tour without giving up a goal in six games on American soil.
Compared to their sloppy play of late, El Tri looked sharp on the night. However, despite numerous opportunities, they again struggled to finish. Alberto Medina came closest in the first half, but his 16-yard shot clanged off the woodwork.
The match—and El Tri—sparked to life when Guardado fired in a rebound of his own shot eight minutes after the break. A cross from the left box by Alberto Medina found Guardado, but his left-footed shot from 12 yards out was batted out by Angola goalkeeper Luis João Lama. Guardado then charged the rebound and nailed a right-footed shot into the net.
The next 30 minutes belonged to Mexico. Gerardo Torrado nearly doubled the lead in the 58th minute, but his shot from just inside the box was saved by Lama. Second-half sub Pablo Barrera wasted only six minutes before letting a bullet fly from 25 yards out in the middle in the 71st minute that was deflected over the goal by an Angolan defender.
Cuauhtémoc Blanco also tried his luck in the 77th minute, but his shot from outside the arc went high.
Angola finally got a shot off in the 80th minute, but Guillermo Ochoa dove to deny Maeco Antonio Rasca’s 25-yard strike. Amandio Felipe de Costa then missed a chance to equalize in the 84th minute after he hit a shot high from 13 yards out on the left.
Mexico faces Chile on Sunday at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City before heading to Europe to play England, The Netherlands and Italy. El Tri start World Cup play June 11 against host South Africa.
In a change to the schedule, Mexico will play Gambia, ranked 93rd in the latest FIFA rankings and not going to the World Cup, instead of Portugal, ranked third in the FIFA rankings and headed to the World Cup. The match will be played May 30 in Germany.
