The Mexican national team has fired current coach Jose de la Torre after El Tri suffered an embarrassing defeat at home against Honduras on Friday.
De la Torre’s job had been in peril for months now after the Mexican side failed to produce effective results in qualifying. Many thought that the team’s subpar performance in the Gold Cup in July was enough to get the coach fired, but the team’s executive chose to keep him around. However, the 2-1 defeat to Honduras at home proved the difference.
The game did not start off so poorly for Mexico as Oribe Peralta gave the team a 1-0 lead just six minutes in. Mexico dominated the game, but wound up giving up two goals in two minutes in the second half to wind up losing 2-1.
Luis Fernando Tena has been placed as the interim coach in anticipation for Tuesday’s major match against the United States in Columbus. If Mexico loses, then the Americans and Costa Ricans automatically qualify for the World Cup; Mexico would have to win its final two games to have any hopes of passing Honduras for third place in the qualifiers.
De la Torre debuted for Mexico in Feb. 2011 and led the team to the 2011 Gold Cup title. He helped El Tri to a solid 11-1-4 record in 2011 and a 10-2-0 streak in 2012. However, 2013 has been dreadful for the Mexican coach as the team has only pulled off a 6-5-8 record. He finished his career with the national team with 27 wins, 12 draws, and nine losses; a 56.25 win percentage.
His permanent replacement will likely be announced in coming weeks prior to the crucial October World Cup qualifiers when Mexico will face Panama and the Costa Rica.
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