He couldn’t handle the pressure against USMNT and is ready to step down from Mexico National Team

Mexico National Team couldn’t beat USMNT in Estadio Azteca on Thursday night in what was the first game of the FIFA match window that will decide which teams are going to play in the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup.

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Both El Tri and the Stars and Stripes knew that the game was decisive for their aspirations of accessing directly to Qatar 2022, as both national teams are trying to avoid falling to the fourth place of the CONCACAF Qualifiers, as that would mean having to dispute the playoffs.

But neither of them was able to open the scoresheet and the game ended in a scoreless draw that doesn’t help them much, especially since Panama tied against Honduras and Costa Rica beat Canada, closing the gap and leaving, for the moment, Panama out of Qatar 2022.

The bright side from last game was the appearance of Johan Vásquez on the starting XI of Gerardo “Tata” Martino, who finally understood that the young center back is one of the best players in the squad and that he couldn’t be benched anymore.

Vásquéz took the role of Héctor Moreno

Vásquez played instead of Héctor Moreno, who was the usual starter for Martino alongside César Montes, but since Moreno returned to Liga MX, his level has dropped significantly, so much that he isn’t even a starter with Monterrey.

In the past, Moreno mentioned that he was considering that Qatar 2022 was going to be his last World Cup, as he knows his time is coming to an end and that by stepping down, he’s letting the younger generations prove themselves.

But after losing his starting role in El Tri, he finally realized that that time has already come and has decided to be true to his word and retire from Mexico National Team once the upcoming World Cup is over.

Moreno’s numbers with El Tri

The 34-year-old center back debuted with the Aztec squad in October of 2007, on a friendly match against Guatemala that El Tri lost by a 3-2 score. since then, Moreno has played a total of 121 games, starting on 112 of them, where he’s also scored five goals.

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