[Sport] Mexico defeated South Africa 3-0 and qualified for the quarterfinals of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

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The Mexican team defeated South Africa 3-0 on the third day of the group stage of the men's soccer tournament at the Tokyo Olympic Games and qualified for the quarterfinals, in which they will face South Korea. Those led by Jaime Lozano took the initiative in the first minutes, while the South Africans hoped to recover the ball to attack on the wings with their wingers, Kobamelo Kodisang on the left and Luther Singh on the right.

At minute 18 Henry Martín opened the ball on the right for Uriel Antuna, who sent a cross into the small area and there Alexis Vega, the Chivas de Guadalajara striker, finished off alone to give the Mexicans 1-0.

Luis Romo warned again in the 38th minute, crashing a header on the crossbar after a great cross from Antuna, who so far was one of the most outstanding players of the match. On the rebound Vega shot from the right, but goalkeeper Williams managed to deflect it towards the corner kick.

In the last minute of regulation time in the first half, Luis Romo took advantage of a ball that Luke Fleurs left inside the area to shoot at goal and after the rebound in goalkeeper Williams, he sent the ball to the back of the goal. 2-0 and peace of mind for ‘El Tri’ who went to rest with qualification in his pocket.

Already in the second half, the game began to have more friction and South Africa tried to create options through physical play and crosses to the Mexico area. At minute 58, defender Repo Malepe saw the red card after a hard tackle on Henry Martín, a move that had to be reviewed by the VAR.

In the 60th minute, Martín had his revenge and after recovering the ball near the South African area, he made a wall with Carlos Rodríguez and scored the third goal for his national team.

Another expulsion occurred at minute 66. Carlos Rodríguez, as a last resort, knocked down a rival striker and New Zealand referee Matthew Conger did not hesitate to get the red card, which balanced the forces at least of troops on the grass.

With the result in their favor and the classification sealed, the Mexicans tried to manage the match and their coach Jaime Lozano decided to make five changes between minute 71 and 77 to give rest to his usual players and prevent another of his players from risking his presence in the next round.

The rest of the match was a procedure for the Mexican tricolor, Olympic champion in London 2012, who with this victory reached six points that placed him as second in the group and thus advanced to the quarterfinals, in which he will face South Korea this Saturday.

 

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