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'Mexico inspires no one' - El Tri's unexpectedly narrow Gold Cup-opening win over Domican Republic sparks harsh criticism

CONCACAF Gold Cup

Mexico

Costa Rica

Dominican Republic

Suriname

Mexico’s 3–2 win over the Dominican Republic in their 2025 Gold Cup opener Saturday night sparked sharp media criticism, with several prominent analysts and former coaches expressing concern about the national team’s performance under Javier Aguirre.Despite the result, many pointed to a lack of identity, intensity, and tactical coherence against an opponent ranked 139th in the world.“You can’t allow this to happen. Mexico didn’t impose itself on the Dominican Republic at all - they let them do whatever they wanted,” said José Luis Sánchez Solá said on ESPN’s Futbol Picante. “There wasn’t a single clear chance in the first half. I loved what the Dominican Republic did. Mexico frustrated me. This team isn’t working."Fellow analyst and coach Mario Carrillo agreed, stressing the lack of basic tactical structure and saying, “Mexico must improve tactically. Today, you have to know how to move the ball, create triangles, and manage possession - especially against teams that run a lot. This is CONCACAF. This is the Gold Cup."Francisco Gabriel de Anda offered a more optimistic but still cautious take, saying: “Aguirre should already have a core lineup with the World Cup less than a year away. You can't still be testing players. I’m optimistic, but he should have 60 percent of the squad defined by now.”He added that dismissing opponents based on perceived quality is a dangerous mindset: “It’s not always about whether the opponent is too weak or too strong. Mexico won, but it wasn’t convincing.”On FOX Sports, Cristian “Chaco” Giménez, father of striker Santiago Giménez, noted that Aguirre "adjusted the team’s structure at halftime due to dissatisfaction with the first-half display."Eduardo de la Torre, a former executive and analyst, criticized Mexico’s offensive setup: “Aguirre has to choose between Raúl Jiménez and Santiago Giménez - this team needs to play with a single striker.”Rubén Rodríguez, also on FOX, was blunt in his assessment: “Much of what the Dominican Republic accomplished was because Mexico allowed it. There was a huge gap in midfield. The team was reactive, not proactive. That’s something Aguirre never addressed. If the goal is to win, fine - but this team doesn’t functionDavid Faitelson of TUDN echoed that sentiment: “Less than a year from the World Cup, Mexico inspires no one - absolutely no one. There’s no identity, no style. What we saw today was very poor against a team with limited ability. In the end, Mexico was begging for the final whistle.”

WHAT HAPPENED?

After the game, Aguirre acknowledged his team was pushed to the limit by an opponent he admitted surprised him.They stuck to a 5-4-1, and did it well," he said. "It was an attractive game for the fans. There are things to correct -we could’ve scored more, but credit to the opponent. They have players in Europe, they’ve grown a lot. They were clinical. Malagón didn’t face too many shots, but the ones he did came from silly plays that led to goals. It could’ve been 3-0, but then it was 3-1, 3-2… and we were on edge again. We played with intensity, but the opponent took us to the limit."

WHAT JAVIER AGUIRRE SAID

Aguirre has won eight of his 13 matches in his current stint as head coach of the national Team. Raúl Jiménez reached 40 goals with El Tri, putting him just six behind Jared Borgetti (46) for second place on Mexico’s all-time scoring list. Javier “Chicharito” Hernández remains the national team’s top scorer with 52 goals.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Mexico will face Suriname Wednesday at AT&amp;T Stadium in Arlington, while the Dominican Republic will take on Costa Rica later that same afternoon at the same venue.

WHAT NEXT FOR MEXICO NATIONAL TEAM?

'Mexico inspires no one' - El Tri's unexpectedly narrow Gold Cup-opening win over Domican Republic sparks harsh criticism | Goal.com

El Tri defeated the Dominican Republic 3-2 with goals from Edson Álvarez, Raúl Jiménez and César Montes

&apos;Mexico inspires no one&apos; - El Tri&apos;s unexpectedly narrow Gold Cup-opening win over Domican Republic sparks harsh criticism

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