Arya News - How quickly things change in international soccer.
“Isn’t it nice to be at home?” Mexico captain Edson Alvarez sneered sarcastically Saturday as he left the field in Torreón after Mexico’s scoreless draw with Uruguay .
The team didn’t lose but still was booed off the field, and while cameras caught Alvarez’s off-the-cuff remark heading up the tunnel, Raúl Jiménez was more direct in a postmatch interview.
Asked if the team was sad to have played better but not won, the veteran forward countered “What’s sad is playing at home and they boo you,” he told TV Azteca, also bringing up fans yelling a homophobic slur the federation has worked to eradicate at their own goalkeeper. That was, in part, because Chivas’ Tala Rangel started over local hero Carlos Acevedo of Santos Laguna, but it was a clear and understandable source of frustration for the players. “That’s what is sad, honestly. Maybe that’s why they always take us to the United States.”
Three nights later, fans in San Antonio also shouted the homophobic word — this time at Paraguay’s goalkeeper — as it became apparent Mexico would lose to the South American squad.
“It’s clear that there are players who have shown they can do the job and want to and others who want to but perhaps can’t. They don’t reach the level,” Mexico manager Javier Aguirre said after Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Paraguay.
But now plenty of fans and the chattering class around the national team are wondering if it’s Aguirre who might not be up to the job.
How quickly things change in international soccer.
“What’s sad is playing at home and getting booed, hearing them shout ‘Vasco out,’ or yelling ‘p*to’ at the goalkeeper. Maybe that’s why they always take us to the United States.”
- Raul Jiménez
Wow. Damming words from the Mexico 9.
pic.twitter.com/J0664qlNR4
— herculez gomez (@herculezg) November 16, 2025
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Mexico was flying high as the class of the CONCACAF region just months ago, having rallied to beat the rival U.S. 2-1 in the Gold Cup final. That came months after a triumph in another regional competition, the CONCACAF Nations League. Aguirre, in his third stint leading the national team, took on the role of a beloved grandfather, delighting his players with a traditional dance despite his 66 years of age and cracking jokes in interviews and news conferences.
Then came the fall friendly matches, games El Tri put on the calendar in an effort to simulate the competition they’ll face at the World Cup. Drawing with a pair of Asian powers in the September window, a scoreless stalemate with Japan and a 2-2 result with South Korea, kept spirits high. But Mexico was broken in October, suffering a 4-0 loss to Colombia in which James Rodríguez and Luis Díaz carved Mexico’s defense open. After two more draws, the loss to Paraguay means Mexico is winless in its last six games.
El Tri can get back in the win column during its planned tour of Central America in January, with a squad that will be made up mostly of Liga MX-based players, but even those results will do little to take away the sting of defeats to South American rivals that Mexican fans feel their team should beat.
To make matters worse for Aguirre this fall, problems are appearing in places where there previously did not seem to be issues.
“I see things I don’t like, things you think we’d already gotten over and then you see with a negative result that isn’t the case,” he said. “We always look to highlight individual performances, but the defeat teaches us that we’re on the right path but not where we want to be.”
The goalkeeper battle now seems to involve Rangel and has ratcheted up after previous No. 1 Luis Angel Malagón struggled against Paraguay, getting caught out of position on the second goal after he made an initial save but struggled to decide where to set up after making the first stop.
Aguirre was missing injured Toluca playmaker Alexis Vega in this camp and saw San Diego FC winger Hirving Lozano depart early because of a hamstring issue suffered against Uruguay.
That meant an over-dependence on 17-year-old Gilberto Mora, a tremendous talent, to create scoring chances. Mora delivered, but heading to a World Cup in which the attack is conditional on a teenager performing in his first time on the biggest stage is not how Mexico planned this home World Cup.
Injuries also have hit Aguirre elsewhere on the field. Likely right back starter Rodrigo Huescas is in a race against time to get fit after suffering a torn ACL with FC Copenhagen in October. Israel Reyes is trying to fill in, but the fullback (or potentially wingback) position remains unsettled.
What Aguirre can be sure about is the defensive core of his team. Though Aguirre played Alvarez as a center back Tuesday night, “El Machin” will likely be needed in the midfield, with the security of a Johan Vazquez-Cesar Montes pairing behind him.
The manager also knows he’ll be able to lean on the experience of Jiménez up top. Mora’s emergence means there is a spark of creativity within the squad, whatever the role the teenager ends up being asked to play.
With those strengths, there is still hope that Aguirre can put the right pieces in place and deliver the types of performances in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey that will have home fans helping push the team on to victory at the World Cup rather than booing their own squad.
Then, players may be able to say “Isn’t it nice to be at home,” and mean it.