LOS ANGELES -- Mexico’s first four matches under Rafael Márquez were supposed to be about building toward what comes next. Instead, the early returns have left the team with more questions than answers.
A 2-0 loss to Chile on Tuesday closed Mexico’s U.S. tour without a win, giving Márquez two draws and two defeats in his first four matches as head coach. After promising performances against Colombia and Peru, Mexico’s form took a sharp turn during the final two games, losing 3-0 to the United States before falling to Chile.
For Roberto Alvarado, there is no avoiding the fact that the results have not been good enough.
“Obviously, it's a balance that was not the one we wanted,” Alvarado said. “We wanted to come out with a win in all four matches.”
That does not mean Alvarado believes the team is starting over. He pointed instead to the need to examine what Mexico has failed to do, both collectively and individually, before the team returns for its next matches.
That distinction may be important for Márquez. Mexico had chances to make Tuesday’s match look different, particularly during a first half in which it controlled much of the play. Alvarado forced a save from Chile goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux with a shot from outside the area, while Armando Gonzalez missed a close-range header. Mexico had possession and opportunities, but it went into halftime without a goal.
The problem became much harder to solve after halftime.
Maximiliano Gutiérrez put Chile ahead in the 54th minute after Mexico lost the ball and allowed the Chilean attack to break forward. Mexico then made several substitutions, and the changes immediately disrupted its play. Denzell Garcia lost possession before Vicente Pizarro carried the attack into the area and doubled Chile’s lead in the 65th minute.
Mexico never found its way back into the match.
That second-half collapse is particularly significant because the team had already shown how quickly a poor performance could snowball against the United States. Alvarado acknowledged the responsibility that comes with representing Mexico but rejected the idea of singling out one player after another disappointing result.
“We are a team, everyone is responsible,” he said.
Germán Berterame offered a similar perspective when discussing the beginning of Márquez’s tenure. Four matches have produced two goals for Mexico and seven against, but Berterame emphasized that the players are still learning what the new coaching staff wants from them.
“There is little time to work when we come here,” Berterame said. “The coaching staff always tries, with the few training sessions we have, to show all the tools that they ask for.”
That explanation may provide some context, but it also points toward the challenge Márquez now faces. The team has limited time together, meaning the progress has to become visible when those short windows arrive.
Berterame said Mexico needs to become stronger when it loses possession, particularly after taking risks while trying to play out from the back. Alvarado said Márquez’s message after the match was to stay calm, recognize the positive elements and understand that there is still more to improve.
Mexico will not have much room for experimentation when it returns in November for the Nations League quarterfinals against Jamaica.
For now, the Márquez era has produced four matches without a win. The players still insist the process is moving forward, but Tuesday’s second half made it harder to ignore how much work remains before those words begin producing better results.