Mexico coach: Should have led 3-0 after the first half

Mexico's national team beat South Africa in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup in Mexico City. After the end of the game, Javier Aguirre, the head coach of the "tricolors", commented on the performance of his own team. "It's not bad to start the World Cup with a win. We played well in the first half, but in the second half we relaxed and couldn't find a way forward. We should have been 3-0 up after the first half. We made the situation difficult for ourselves. But then 2:0 on the scoreboard forced us to relax, so it became even more difficult. Of course, we have room to grow after such a game. Raul Jimenez? He is a good guy, cheerful, full of energy. He told me before the tournament that this would be his World Cup. Cesar's removal at the end of the game made things a little difficult for us. We lost the ball easily that episode, so he had to take a risk. It was definitely not in our plans, but now such a new weekend data before the next game. Mora? We couldn't find him in the areas we wanted, but he didn't look out of place given the situation on the pitch when he came on. Fans have every right to be upset. I didn't hear our team booing. You are journalists, not me, you know better. People would be happier if they won 4-0. We had 16 goalscoring opportunities, 12 crosses to someone else's free kick. But we weren't very sharp in the last third - that's our area for improvement," said the Mexican specialist. In the next round, the national team of Mexico will play against South Korea.