Concacaf at Copa América: #2 Mexico (1993)
In Concacaf's first invite to the tournament, Mexico proved more than deserving to be there!
By now, we’ve grown accustomed to seeing Concacaf teams at Copa América, but this has only been a reality for the last 30 years. The 1993 edition saw the 10 CONMEBOL teams compete as usual and both Mexico and the US were invited as special guests. This marked the beginnings of more collaboration between the two confederations (especially CONMEBOL with Mexico at the club competition level).
It was a new market to tap into for CONMEBOL and with the 1994 World Cup being hosted in the US - it was a no-brainer! This was a huge opportunity for Mexico who were coming out of a scandal that disqualified them from the 1990 World Cup and a poor showing at the 1991 Gold Cup. Led by a strike partnership of Hugo Sánchez (who had just returned from Real Madrid) and Zague along with the legendary goal-scoring sweeper-keeper Jorge Campos, El Tri had a shot at making history!
If you missed #3 in our countdown, feel free to check it out below:
2. Mexico 1993
Result: 2nd place
Summary
They began their tournament against Colombia, one of the better teams in the world at that time, led by “El Pibe” Valderrama, Andrés Escobar, and Leonel Álvarez. Colombia took the early lead before the half with a beautifully executed counterattack. Early in the second half, Mexico won a free-kick. It was whipped it right at the Colombian keeper and he blocked it into the path of a waiting Zague, who only had to tap it in to tie it up. Mexico held on until just a few minutes remaining when Colombia got their winning goal after the usually sure-handed Campos was not able to hold onto a shot and they put the loose ball into the back of the net.
Mexico entered their second group game against Argentina needing a result! Just 15 minutes into the game, Hugo Sánchez was fouled outside of the box. As the teams surrounded the ball, Hugo tricked the Argentines with a quick restart and passed it to David Patiño for an easy finish. Would this goal stand today? I’ll let you decide for yourselves:
Unfortunately, they couldn’t hold their lead and Argentina equalized before the break. The teams remained deadlocked at full-time and earned a point a piece. Mexico entered their final group game against Bolivia needing at least a point to secure a spot in the knockout round as one of the best third-place teams. While the attacking production was lacking, they held Bolivia to a clean sheet to squeak into the quarterfinals - a vintage Jorge Campos performance!
El Tri had their best showing in the attack against Peru, dropping 4 unanswered goals on them, including this GOLAZO from Zague. It may have been the best goal of his career as he gathered a ball from over the top with his chest and volleyed it past the Peruvian keeper. Alberto García Aspe added a brace and David Patiño gave them the 4-0 lead just after the break. Peru pulled 2 goals back but it was too little too late as Mexico advanced to the semifinals.
Ecuador, the host nation, came in having scored 13 goals in 4 games and all the confidence in the world. Hugo Sánchez scored his first goal of the tournament, and his last for El Tri, with a header at the back post on the bounce from a corner. The Mexican backline performed well and kept Ecuador at bay for most of the match. In the second half, Mexico was on a breakaway and the Ecuadorian goalie charged out to the edge of the penalty area, only to be chipped by Ramón Ramírez for Mexico’s second goal! El Tri had knocked out the hosts and was onto the final in their first Copa América!
A rematch with La Albiceleste awaited Mexico and they knew they had the quality to compete! Mexico missed a few good chances in the first half and the teams finished the first 45’ all square. The legendary Batigol opened the scoring for Argentina after bodying a defender off the ball and launching a near-post rocket to beat Campos. Just a few minutes later, Zague drew a penalty in the box and El Maestro Galindo rolled it in after faking the keeper to tie the game! Towards the end of the game, Argentina caught Mexico off-guard this time on a throw-in and Batigol punished them with a pristine move and left-footed finish to reclaim the lead and eventually the title. It was a classic Copa América - highlights below:
Best Moment: Hugo Sánchez’ final goal for Mexico
Hugo Sánchez reached heights at the club level that no other player from Concacaf had before and hasn’t since - 5 La Liga titles and Golden Boots, a European Golden Shoe, Real Madrid all-time Best XI, and the list goes on. Despite this acclaim, Hugol wasn’t able to take El Tri to similar heights (only winning a few trophies). Some don’t even consider him Mexico’s best all-time player because of these shortcomings with the national team.
I would argue most of this was not his fault - he was a teenager at the 1978 World Cup that Mexico flamed out of. They failed to qualify for the 1982 World Cup (but Hugo was their top scorer in qualifying). He scored his first and only World Cup goal in the 1986 tournament on home soil, but the team lost in the quarterfinals on penalties. They were disqualified from the 1990 World Cup and by the time the 1994 World Cup came, he was well past his prime. Despite his best efforts, he was not able to make the same impact with El Tri.
Given that background, this goal from Hugo was the best moment for Mexico in their inaugural Copa América! While it wasn’t a vintage bicycle kick that he was famous for (and was probably the best in the world at), it was classic Hugo Sánchez being in the perfect spot to score - we even got to see his front flip after the goal. It was the winning goal for Mexico to put them into the final and was ultimately his last goal for El Tri!
Best Player: Zague
Playing next to Hugo was Zague (a phenomenal striker who would become Club América’s all-time leading scorer). He was already becoming a staple in the Mexican attack as this tournament rolled around. He benefitted greatly from playing with Hugo in this tournament, as they both struck fear into opposing defenses. He scored the “right place, right time” equalizer against Colombia and had one of the best goals of the tournament against Peru. While there were many worthy of Mexico’s player of the tournament, this golazo put him over the top for me!
Mexico’s performance at the 1993 tournament was historic for the country and all of Concacaf! It helped continue to establish credibility for the confederation on a bigger stage and introduce Concacaf futbol to the wider South American audience. This is still one of the best tournament performances for El Tri along with the 1999 Confederations Cup, 2001 Copa América, and 2012 Olympics!
Next week we will bring you the final installment of this countdown and our full Concacaf preview for the 2024 Copa América!