Squad details correct up to and including Mexico's match against Trinidad & Tobago on 25 April 2001.

Diary

Wednesday, 2 May 2001 - Coach Enrique Meza has announced an initial squad of eleven players for Mexico's friendly matches against Ecuador in Chicago on and England in Derby on 25 May and for the Confederations Cup 2001 tournament, which begins on 30 May in Japan and Korea Republic.  Meza will add to the squad as domestic clubs are eliminated from the ongoing Verano 2001 Tournament until the Confederations Cup squad limit of 23 players is reached.  The 11 selected players are:  Oswaldo Sanchez; Joaquin Beltran and Salvador Carmona; Marco Antonio Ruiz, Alberto Coyote, Victor Ruiz, Juan Pablo Rodriguez, Hugo Chevez and David Rangel; Daniel Osorno and Jose Manuel Abundis.

Thursday, 10 May 2001 - Enrique Meza has named six more players to the Mexico squad. Jorge Campos, who had fallen into disfavour during Mexico's continuing string of mediocre performances, was recalled after an absence of two months.  Also recalled after a much longer absence was Joaquin del Olmo, who earned caps during the coaching tenures of Miguel Mejia Baron, Bora Milutinovic and Manuel Lapuente. David Oteo was given a first call to the national side.  Also summoned were the veteran defender Claudio Suarez, Jesus Arellano and Antonio De Nigris.

Friday, 11 May 2001 - Mexico's match against Ecuador on 19 May at Soldiers Field in Chicago was cancelled as a result of the shooting last week of Ecuador's coach, the Colombian Hernan Dario Gomez.

Thursday, 17 May 2001 - Enrique Meza announces his 23-man squad for the Confederations Cup 2001 tournament that begins on 30 May in Korea Republic and Japan.  The squad includes the nineteen players who will be available for selection for the friendly match against England. Four players--Jared Borgetti, Joaquin Reyes, Octavio Valdez and Cesareo Victorino--will join the squad for the Confederations Cup after the England match.  Their clubs, Santos and Pachuca, are still involved in domestic competition; they play the second leg of the final of the Verano 2001 tournament Sunday. Meza made some adjustments to the 17-man provisional squad he named earlier, dropping three players and adding nine. Jorge Campos and Salvador Carmona withdrew because they will play in a promotional series for their club side, Atlante, in June. Joaquin del Olmo withdrew because he required nasal surgery. Three national team veterans, the 28-year-old forward Francisco Palencia, the 28-year-old goalkeeper Oscar Perez and the 31 year-old defender Alberto Macias, were left out because their club side, Cruz Azul, has advanced to the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores tournament, the Latin American equivalent of the European Champions tournament.
However, the most notable omission from the squad was the superb young Monaco defender Rafael Marquez, reportedly headed for Real Madrid this summer.  Meza gave no reason for his omission, but Marquez was sent off in April's World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago and will be suspended for Mexico's next qualifier against Costa Rica on 16 June.  He is eligible to play in the World Cup qualifiers against Honduras on 20 June and the United States on 1 July, but there has been speculation he may not be recalled to the national side until the Copa America tournament in Colombia later in July. 

Thursday, 24 May 2001 - The Mexican media report that Jesus Arellano failed to show up as the national team departed for England on Monday.  Enrique Meza reportedly said Arellano will be dropped from squad.  Arellano was quoted as saying he has had severe dental problems and that he notified national team officials he could not join the squad until they were resolved.

Friday, 25 May 2001 - The Mexican media report that midfielder German Villa will be unavailable for tonight's match because of an injury suffered in practise on Tuesday.

Enrique Meza, born on 3 March 1948 in Ciudad de M�xico, was appointed national team coach on 14 September 2000 on the strength of his coaching credentials in Mexico's Primera Division.  After head coaching stints with Cruz Azul, Atl�tico Morelia and Toros Neza, he led Toluca to three straight titles in the Verano or summer segment of Mexico's dual league contests.  

Meza succeeded Manuel Lapuente, who had considerable success with the national team, leading them to their first major tournament victory in the Confederations Cup of 1999, which was held on their home soil.  But pressure for a coaching change mounted as Canada's elimination of Mexico in the quarterfinals of the 1999 Gold Cup tournament,  the CONCACAF national team championship, was followed by an away loss to Trinidad & Tobago in CONCACAF's second round of World Cup 2002 qualification.  Lapuente resigned on 4 September 2000.  

Meza took charge 10 days later, and Mexico turned in acceptable performances in friendly victories over Ecuador and Bolivia and a 7-0 trouncing of Trinidad & Tobago in the return match at Estadio Azteca.   The honeymoon quickly ended as Mexico failed to score in the next four matches, drawing with Canada in a World Cup qualifier and losing friendly matches against the U.S.A., Argentina and Bulgaria, the latter their first home loss in more than five years.  Mexico managed to lose to Colombia in a January friendly after holding a two-goal lead and then lost to the U.S.A. 2-0 in February in the first match of CONCACAF's final round of World Cup qualification.  Since then they have staged a modest recovery in drawing 3-3 with Brazil in a scintillating friendly, beating Jamaica 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier and Chile 1-0 in a friendly, and drawing 1-1 away to Trinidad & Tobago in another qualifier. 

While the results have improved somewhat, Mexico's performances, with the exception of the Brazil friendly, have not, and Meza now finds himself subject to the intense pressures that forced his predecessor to resign.  Mexico's  loss of form has coincided with the long-term absence of two key midfield players, Cuauhtemoc Blanco of Real Valladolid (Spain), who sustained serious knee ligament injuries in the October qualifier against Trinidad & Tobago, and Ramon Ramirez of Tigres, who suffered a broken right ankle and a left Achilles tendon injury in a car accident in December.  Still, the grumbling continues--the Mexican press and public are short on sympathy and patience when Mexico fail to beat their CONCACAF rivals--and if Meza does not turn things around soon, it is likely he will be gone.  

As Mexico approach their match with England, Meza's record stands at 5 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses, much worse than Lapuente's.  For the first time, there is fear not only that Mexico have lost their supremacy in the CONCACAF region, but also that they may even lose their customary place in the World Cup final tournament.  Mexico have a tenuous hold on the third and last qualifying place in the CONCACAF group.

Mexico remain accomplished at maintaining possession--their passing game is often mesmerising--but without the playmaking skills of Blanco and the drive of Ramirez, they have been unable to convert dominance in possession into goals.  Meza has experimented with a large number of new players, but is still seeking a solution for the team's inability to find openings against even modest opposition and their lack of thrust in front of the opposition's goal.  

At the same time, Meza must guide Mexico through a singularly grueling summer programme.  Immediately after meeting England, they fly to the Far East for the Confederations Cup tournament, where they are in the same group as World Cup and European champions France as well as Korea Republic and Australia and are likely to meet Brazil in the semi-finals should they advance from the group.  Immediately after their return in mid-June, they play three World Cup qualification matches over a two-week period against Costa Rica, Honduras and the U.S.A., which may well determine whether they return to the Far East next year for the final tournament.  Following friendlies against Chile and Uruguay in early July, they go to Colombia in mid-July for the Copa America tournament, the Americas' equivalent of the European Championship, where they are in the "group of death" with  Brazil, Paraguay and Peru.  That takes them through the end of July.  By then, Meza should know his fate. - PY

World Cup 2002 CONCACAF Final Round The top three teams qualify for the World Cup finals.
Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
United States	3	3	0	0	5	1	+4	9
Costa Rica	3	1	1	1	5	3	+2	4
Mexico	3	1	1	1	5	3	+2	4
Jamaica	3	1	1	1	2	5	-3	4
Honduras	3	0	2	1	4	5	-1	2
Trinidad & Tobago	3	0	1	2	1	5	-4	1

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CG/PY