After 45 minutes against Honduras on Tuesday, Mexico appeared stuck at 0-0. The blistering sun, the 90-degree weather and the significant humidity in San Pedro Sula made El Tri look justifiably sluggish in the muggy Honduran environment. With Los Catrachos coming out aggressive and scrappy, a goal seemed unlikely for either side.
That's not to say that the visiting team was the victim in this situation. Mexico responded with their own combative play, leading to an incessant amount of fouls and flops from both sides. The pitch itself, which was shown to be long and thick before the match, stifled the El Tri XI that has typically thrived on quick passing and movement on the field.
In just his second match in charge, manager Juan Carlos Osorio was faced with a daunting task at hand. The Hondurans had a fair amount of possession in the midfield and were just one or two passes away from sneaking in the first goal of the match. If the result held, or Honduras scored, the 50-year winless streak for Mexico in San Pedro Sula would have lived on.
Osorio took his chances later in the second half, introducing substitutes Jesus "Tecatito" Corona, 22, and Jurgen Damm, 23.
Corona, who was brought on in the 61st minute for Javier Aquino, was a firecracker with the ball at his feet. The crafty winger had an immediate impact with his thrilling style of play that was expressive and unpredictable. Just six minutes after coming on, the Porto attacker scored one of the best goals of his career with a self-created volley opportunity.
After gaining a narrow 1-0 lead, Osorio took another chance by removing Javier Hernandez in the 70th minute and replacing him with Damm. The decision to take off Mexico's superstar and symbol appeared as a strange one. The Bayer Leverkusen striker was on a hot streak in Europe, but was substituted out of the match for a youngster who had just made his national-team debut earlier this year.
Yet again, though, Osorio's decision was the right one. Two minutes after being introduced, Damm sealed the away win for El Tri with his first career goal for the national team.
In a game in which the rough and tumble nature of CONCACAF came to the fore, Mexico's youngsters stood out with their exciting and eye-catching goals that calmed any worries of another 0-0 result. Credit to Osorio for putting his trust in the players, but plenty of the recognition for the win should also be given to the two goal scorers who took advantage of their opportunities.
With Damm and Corona both firing, Mexico fans should feel exhilarated for the future of the national team, which isn't just focused on the two aforementioned players.
Twenty-two-year-old Raul "Dedos" Lopez is quickly becoming an enticing option on the right side of defense, and has become more accurate with his crossing for Chivas. If the player continues to develop, he could soon steal more minutes away from Paul Aguilar or Miguel Layun.
Then there's 23-year-old Diego Reyes, who is gaining an invaluable amount of experience as a starter with Real Sociedad. The tall and lanky center-back is becoming more confident with every match and is arguably Mexico's best defender after Hector Moreno and Rafael Marquez.
The list for up-and-coming youth talent increases significantly when we look at those who didn't make the cut for the recent call-up. Hirving Lozano, Orbelin Pineda, Raul Gudino, Carlos Salcedo and Erick Gutierrez are just a few of many highly skilled names who should be breaking into the senior team in the near future. Osorio has so far benefitted from utilizing youth, and will likely be tempted to give others a chance to shine, too.
With plenty of room for growth in the next couple of years, Osorio now has a wealth of options to bolster Mexico. If utilized correctly and given a chance to show off their talents, there is a good chance that El Tri supporters will see one of the greatest generation of Mexican players evolve and flourish before the 2018 World Cup.