Mexico didn’t crash out of the 2024 Copa América altogether; it gradually, helplessly, sank toward an early exit.
It played Ecuador to a 0-0 draw at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday, failing to score for the second time in a row and losing the chance to snatch a dramatic stoppage-time winner after VAR overturned a penalty.
The draw doomed Mexico to third place in Group B, behind Ecuador and Venezuela. And it was the start of a long summer of questions about this generation of Mexican players, about the system that produced them, and about whether head coach Jaime Lozano is the right man to lead them to the 2026 World Cup.
On Sunday they opened with energy and intensity, with the desire of proud players desperate to improve their football-obsessed country – but unable to do so.
They threw themselves into tackles and into 50-50 duels. They occasionally won the ball high up the pitch and got a cheering Arizona crowd going — but even when they did, they hardly created any real chances.
Every time they ventured into the final third they conjured up zero creativity.
Whenever they formulated a smart pass in their head, not a single teammate moved from the ball to bring that pass to life.
Whenever they were about to shoot or jump for a header, they fired shots high or wide. None of their ten attempts in the first half ended up on target.
Each toothless raid was reminiscent of the words of American defender Tim Ream in March.
“We knew they were predictable. They’re the most direct Mexican team that’s ever been,” Ream said after beating Mexico 2-0. “We knew exactly what was coming and we knew exactly how to make the game ours.”
Ecuador certainly did that too.
The Ecuadorians also knew that they only needed a draw. Their goals against Venezuela and Jamaica in earlier games had given them an advantage on goal difference. So they knew they could advance to the quarterfinals against Argentina without scoring again. It was up to Mexico to find a goal, upset the standings in Group B and sneak into second place.
And The Tri could not.
They screamed for penalties but never got one.
Feyenoord’s Santiago Giménez entered the penalty area quickly, but he didn’t look like the fearsome striker he has been in the Netherlands.
Luis Romo finally fired Mexico’s first shot on target after 64 minutes, but it went straight through the throat of Ecuadorian goalkeeper Alexander Domínguez.
Julián Quiñones tested Dominguez a minute later; and Giménez pounced on the rebound, but hit the post. They simply couldn’t score.
So they were the first top seed to perish during the 2024 Copa América.
However, their seed was deceptive. On paper they were the second-best team in CONCACAF, but they are in the middle of a long-awaited rebuild. Lozano, who apparently has more job security than some predecessors, left several mainstays, including Hirving “Chucky” Lozano and Raúl Jiménez, out of his 26-player roster for the tournament. The idea was to break in unknown domestic stars who had been blocked on the depth charts by national team veterans but could potentially contribute in 2026.
“We are still two years away from our World Cup,” Mexico’s sporting director Duilio Davino said after the squad was announced.[As co-hosts,] We have secured our place and we want to take this great opportunity not to think about the immediacy of the outcome and project our path to 2026.”
Lozano, speaking at the same press conference in Mexico City, agreed: “What matters most is what we build towards 2026 and 2030. If we focus on results, we will arrive exactly at the point where we almost always Hatch.”
So they implicitly admitted that they would probably not win this Copa América.
But fans expected more: more than one goal in 270 minutes, more than a group stage elimination that yielded little to no evidence of progress.
Instead, it was a reminder that the rebuilding has been forced, that the generational change has been anything but organic. It has not been accelerated by a promising wave of youngsters. It has been dictated from above by officials looking for new blood, or whether that new blood will ever be robust enough to drag Mexico back to where it believes it belongs: in or around the world’s top 10 international soccer teams.
The caveat to the Copa América, and perhaps the easiest excuse for the failure, is that El Tri’s captain and most talented player, Edson Álvarez, left the tournament after 27 minutes in Mexico’s season opener.
But the end result was unequivocal.
Venezuela, who have never qualified for a World Cup, top the group with nine points and face Canada in the quarter-finals on Friday in Arlington, Texas.
Ecuador will face Argentina in Houston on Thursday.
Mexico will not play another competitive match until November.
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