I guess I've got a bit different take on Mexico. I totally agree that
they are as good as just about anyone in the world at keeping
possession. Very skilled players pretty much everywhere on the field.
Where I think they fail is on two levels. Defense and physicality. They
probably had as good a defense and goalkeeping as they have ever had in
the past 30+ years and it still wasn't enough. I'd place their defense
in the low second 10 in the world. The past few years, probably
somewhere between 12-14. Physically, the Mexicans are simply not up to
the task. When they finally do respond to a team pushing them all over
the field, it's usually in an inappropriate retaliatory mode as opposed
to just stepping up. Onyewu destroyed them in our last game and
primarily did it with his physical presence. Just think what a truly
good big defender/defense ala Italy, Germany, etc. would do to them.
The reason they respond so well in tournaments is the same reason we
usually do: we have so little to lose. We can go out and play hard,
loose, fast, and if we get beat, well, is anyone truly surprised
(beyond the core fans)? There's no real pressure here. There's
certainly a good deal more in Mexico, but I would submit that even the
press there has become somewhat accustomed to not quite ever punching
through. My two cents.... not worth much these days, I know. D