The Road To Brazil 2014 via Wellington feat. Mexico

Don't really want to point out the elephant in the room, however... who are the 9 on yellow cards? Explains why RH has been experimenting so much.

Another plus of you guys playing route one is that if they start Ochoa in goal, he is poor at judging when to come off his line.  The second goal they conceded a goal vs. Costa Rica that shows just that.  On the other hand, he is a pretty good shot blocker from distance but gives up a good amount of rebounds so hopefully you can take advantage of that, and he prefers to punch than catch crosses that are near him because of his lack of height.

I believe their other goalkeeper, Corona, is more talented but he's been out of favor due to Ochoa's club form, which hasn't really translated to his NT play.  He also had a calamitous error vs. the U.S. where they conceded on a corner.

The thing with Fallon is that I hope someone has said to him 'Hey, these Mexicans are dirty bastards and the instant you muscle in the aerial ball, you will get pinged as they will soft it and fall over ala Italy.' One would hope, that Fallon has learned that because his greatest strength, is in the air.

Bright brings.... what? Marco or Kosta way way way before him.

The thought of Rojas running off Fallon (if he is not being a goose in the air) is actually not a bad thought. In my opinion, I don't think Marco is a player that comes in and turns it on straight away. I think he is one of those players that is always going to have to play his way into form purely because a lot of his game is built around timing and that's something that goes first when you have had an injury.

if rory ended up being hero again I may have to look at attending his church and renouncing my athiest beliefs

Actually Rojas sending in his crosses to Fallon could be a great tactic. If Fallon scores the winner and we progress,  how are peoplegoingtofeel about Fallon and herbet

Both probably get a knighthood.

Can't remember the last time I read as much B/S as has been on here in the last couple of days.

I guess you dont proof-read your own posts then

Nice grammar. Point proven.

oh no leggy you did not 

the missing word is right there in your link sunshine

Confirmed: Mexico have just sacked their coach after 2 games.

Tom Marshall ‏@mexicoworldcup 17m

OFFICIAL: Vucetich out as Mexico national team manager. No official news on who comes in. (Spanish) http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/news/story?id=1931741&s=mundial&type=story…

Expect major changes to Mexico under Herrera

Basically looks like we will be playing a Mexican team based on Club America now.

Thankyou Mexican Federation - if we can't defeat you on the pitch, you will defeat yourselves!!!

Getting more surreal every day! 

NZ Football are the most competent sports body in the world by comparison...

Seems to be confirmed by international media in recent hours: 

http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/17/mexico-national-team-vucetich-fired-miguel-herrera-fmf-el-tri-club-america/

More on this Mexico manager musical chairs (quite why a Mexican club decides these things, beats me):

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/9299777/Mexicans-may-change-coach-before-NZ-games

"Mexico look set to change coach for the fourth time in less than six weeks with local media reporting that Victor Vucetich will be replaced by Miguel Herrera.

Vucetich, who presided over a win and a defeat in Mexico's final two CONCACAF World Cup qualifying group matches, will be sacked in a last-ditch bid to reach the tournament finals ahead of a playoff with the All Whites next month.

"The turbulence of the Mexican national team will take new victims and Miguel Herrera will step in," the Televisa network, which owns Mexican club America, said.

"Victor Manuel Vucetich will cease to be the national team coach and Miguel Herrera will take command to face the playoff against New Zealand, a decision made by (America owner) Emilio Azcarraga," said the sports daily Record.

New manager Herrera actually less successful in club football than Vucetich who he's replacing:

"Now he’s set to be replaced by a man who, while very successful in recent tournaments, has a résumé which pales in comparison to Vucetich’s. The 45-year-old Herrera has won one Mexican championship, though he’s in position to claim another. Vucetich has five Primera Division titles to his credit. He’s also won CONCACAF Champions League three times (in a row), two Copa Méxicos, two second division titles (early in his career), and has two manager of the tournament awards.

[In terms of league championships won] the side-by-side comparison between doesn’t flatter the incoming boss.

It all leads to the impression Mexico’s grasping at straws – struggling to accept the reality of their circumstances.  That’s not something you could have said about the Vucetich hire, which carried the impression of a revered boss joining the team in its time of need (much as Javier Aguirre did last cycle, replacing Sven Goran Eriksson). Now, the FMF’s resorted to change for change’s sake.

Herrera may not be the man who couldn’t win at Monterrey — he may have matured from the young man who fell short four jobs ago — but there’s little reason to believe he’s a better option than Vucetich. This is a man whose 12-year coaching career is about to embrace its eighth job. In the face of Vucetich’s success of Monterrey, that speak poorly of Mexico’s decision-making process.

Rather than continuing to look at coaches as the problem, it’s time for the FMF consider something’s broken with this squad. Sometime after the successes of the 2011 Gold Cup and 2012 Olympics, Mexico did a face plant from which it’s been unable to recover, and given the constant has been the players, it’s time to stop placing blame with the coaches. Whether it’s chemistry, fit, motivation, or just a prolonged blip in performance, these players are not the star most thought they’d be. It’s a problem that’s transcended coaches.

But instead of taking that approach, the FMF seems to be adopting a two wrongs make a right view. If the squad’s broken, let’s break the coaching situation, too. Maybe the match between two fractured parts, a technical area as aimless as the talent on the pitch, will allow them to luck into the World Cup.

With Herrera, it may work, but odds are Vucetich would have come up with a solution. He just needed more than a month."

What involvement does Carlos Slim have in Mexican football Javier? I know he is the richest man in the world and owns pretty much the whole country. This man is worth over 70 billion dollars. How you obtain this kind of money LEGALLY is beyond me. If he is heavily involved in Mexican football, surely it is very corrupt.

People in Mexico is asking not to go to the first leg,  in repudiation of the decision from directors and business men  to sack the current coach  Victor Vucetich.

i didnt know that the Muppets show was broadcasted live from the MEXICAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION.  This is a circus full of clowns with big wallets, but clowns by the end of the day.

yeah I thought 75mins was a close call but manageable

Google says in Normal traffic its 16mins so I thought allow 45mins we should be sweet!

By the time we get in a taxi will have about 30mins

On a tight budget, (told the misscus we should be able to do the whole trip for under $400.00) but looked at changing times would cost us extra $378.00

(It's currently costing $366.00 +Taxi to stadium all up for air fares. Match tickets, backpackers for a night)

I'm going to be stressing about this for a month until we are seated!

Major US football website backs NZ to get past Mexico:

http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2013/10/16/4844762/mexico-new-zealand-2014-world-cup-qualifying

BEATING NEW ZEALAND IS NO GIMME FOR MEXICO

By Ryan Rosenblatt  @RyanRosenblatt on Oct 16 2013, 1:21p

"At some point, a team has played poorly for long enough that they are no longer going through a rough patch, but simply a bad team. Mexico, a team with just seven wins in 25 matches since the start of the year, has reached that point. Spells and trends don't last 10 months.

Mexico can't score. They tallied just seven goals during the Hex and they've been shut out as many times as they've won in 2013. When teams like El Tri — teams who are inept at creating chances and finishing the opportunities they get — go up against teams that pack men behind the ball with a physical frontman, it's a recipe for disaster.

Enter New Zealand...

....Even if Peralta and Jimenez can save El Tri's skin with a goal, that may not be enough. In Mexico's Hex finale, Bryan Ruiz and Alvaro Saborio exposed just how vulnerable the El Tri defense is to big, strong strikers. Rafa Marquez was a disaster in defense and probably should have been sent off against the Ticos, while Hugo Ayala had no answer for what Ruiz, then Saborio when he entered the game, asked of him.

The Kiwis are everything Mexico don't want to see; they're perfectly assembled to frustrate their impotent attack and exploit their issues at the back. They might not have many goals in them, but it's entirely possible that over two legs, one or two goals is all it will take to send New Zealand to the World Cup at El Tri's expense.

Mexico thought the U.S. had saved their World Cup dreams with their dramatic stoppage time equalizer, but all it did was break Panamanian hearts and earn El Tri a stay of execution. New Zealand is waiting, and they look the part of dream-crushers."

They won't refund Airfares

Just resign myself that I may miss the start!

US national team supporters group "The Outlaws" are right behind the All Whites and have formed a Facebook supporters page to get in behind NZ. They are organizing parties already to celebrate us beating Mexico.

"NZ OULAWS" FACEBOOK:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/375823915883237/

On All Whites Facebook today:

Jade Heeren

New Zealand Outlaws

• If you want New Zealand to kick Mexico out of the 2014 World Cup then you are welcome. It is all in good fun. We will keep this open till November 21st when we can all talk about how awesome it is to not have the tree qualify...
• 464 members · Join Group

Jade Heeren

ESPN MEXICO IS TALKING ABOUT ALL WHITES AND THE NEW SHAPED MEXICO TEAM BASED ON AMERICA FC PLAYERS plus some other key members.  HERRERA  new manager, 

http://elgrantv.com/espn.html

I thought Javier Hernandez received a yellow card against Costa Rica and was going to miss the first leg but now they have removed the yellow card from the fifa website? http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/nccamerica/matches/round=258372/match=300221972/index.html

http://www.yellowfever.co.nz/categories/general-football-discussion/topics/concacaf-world-cup-qualifying/page/12

The friendly you guys had against Chivas USA: Can someone tell me how many of your usual starters were involved in that match? 

Someone please enlighten me! Thanks

Only 5 potential starters didn't go on the tour (Rojas, Wood, Smeltz, Killen, Sigmund).

The first 4 are wingers/forwards, Sigmund is a defender.