The
Argentine Under 23 Team had a
hard setback
in the early hours of this Tuesday
in its preparation for the
Paris 2024 Olympic Games
.
The team led by Javier Mascherano
suffered a painful 3-0 defeat against
Mexico, a rival whom they beat 4-2 a few days ago, at the start of the tour.
The local team hit the albiceleste team at the right moments and won an unappealable victory at the Cuauhtémoc stadium in the city of Puebla.
The thing is that
Argentina, which was far below its potential
, did not find the necessary responses to overcome the adverse scenarios.
Only a shot by Juan Sforza and a brushstroke by Nicolás Paz that Luciano Gondou was unable to finish could be counted for Mascherano's team in the first half, a chapter in which the Mexicans managed to take the lead with a
penalty converted by Santiago Muñoz
, after a foul that Luján committed against that same Aztec player.
👏🏻😀⚽️🔥🇲🇽 Goal from Mexico!
👏🏻😀⚽️🔥🇲🇽 Santiago Muñoz opens the scoring from the eleven steps!
🔴 LIVE on TUDN
📲🇲🇽 https://t.co/muJmuEVQ4z #SeleccionMexicanaEnTelevisa pic.twitter.com/1hKUT0BoeG
— TUDN MEX (@TUDNMEX) March 26, 2024
However, the difference for the local team could have been established before the 38th minute. If they did not achieve it, it was only due to the three
great interventions by goalkeeper Fabricio Iacovich
.
The complement found Argentina with the firm intention of leveling the result, but the game did not accompany them.
The intermittent appearances of Paz and Claudio Etcheverri, added to the limited offensive presence of Santiago Castro and Gondou, made the path towards the rival goal too long.
Only a mid-range shot by Román Vega that went wide could be counted as an action of some risk for the Argentine team, until
Ramiro Árciga began to decide the result
.
Halfway through that final stage, the young Mexican tried from afar and nailed the ball next to the left post of the Estudiantes goalkeeper to make it 2-0.
👏🏻😄⚽️🇲🇽 Goal from Mexico!
Ramiro Árciga tests medium distance and finds the second goal for the Tri sub-23
🔴 LIVE on TUDN
📲🇲🇽 https://t.co/muJmuEVQ4z #SeleccionMexicanaEnTelevisa pic.twitter.com/q0linUJ3Ct
— TUDN MEX (@TUDNMEX) March 26, 2024
In added time ,
Mexico finished the game
, due to the sector of the defense that was most difficult for Argentina to cover, the left.
It was through Árziga, again, although this time the Mazatlán footballer entered the penalty area and finished crosswise.
👏🏻😀⚽️⚽️ Double by Ramiro Árciga!
👏🏻😄🇲🇽⚽️🔥 The Mexican U-23 National Team is beating Argentina
🔴 LIVE on TUDN
📲🇲🇽 https://t.co/muJmuEVQ4z #SeleccionMexicanaEnTelevisa pic.twitter.com/gJoNj59D9Y
— TUDN MEX (@TUDNMEX) March 26, 2024
The closing of the commitment only reflected
a certain helplessness of the Argentine boys
in the context of an adverse night.
In one of the last actions, Luján hit a rival who had fallen as a result of an infraction with a ball and a moment of some tension arose between both teams.
Fortunately, the bad weather dissipated quickly.
It was undoubtedly an important blow for those led by Mascherano in their preparation for Paris 2024, where they will share Group B with Ukraine, Morocco and the third place in Asia.
In any case, the glass half full shows that there is still time and material to correct the mistakes and reach that tournament in the best way.
IS