Five months after their controversial match in the knockout stages of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the time has come for Mexico and the Netherlands to stop jabbing at one another and let their play on the pitch do the talking for them. The highly anticipated rematch between the two countries gets under way on Wednesday from Ajax’s Amsterdam Arena in Holland.
Mexico comes into the match on fire, after going undefeated since their loss to the Dutch in Brazil. El Tri was clinging to a 1-0 lead with just two minutes left in regulation before Wesley Sneijder scored the equalizer and Arjen Robben drew a foul in the box on Rafa Marquez to give the Netherlands the game winning penalty kick goal.
“I still say the referee made a decisive mistake,” said Mexico’s manager Miguel Herrera on Monday. “You can imagine how that feels during the World Cup.”
Robben’s foul was called a flop by most of El Tri’s fans and it spawned the “No era Penal!” (It wasn’t a penalty) movement on social media. Neither the team nor the fans have forgotten that match and you better believe Mexico will be out for blood come Wednesday.
“If you then lose and in the way that happened to us, you go broke. At least I do,” said Herrera. “A win on Wednesday should be the first important step towards the revenge over the next four years.”
Mexico’s chances of revenge could never be better as the Dutch come into the match struggling under new coach, Guus Hiddink. Hiddink took over for Louis van Gaal after the World Cup when Van Gaal took over Manchester United. Since taking over the team, the Netherlands are just 1-2 in their last three matches. In addition to their struggles, the team comes into the Mexico match hobbled. Davy Klaassen and Nigel De Jong have been ruled out with injuries.
One player that both squads certainly want on the pitch is Robben who told the Mexico fans on Monday that the penalty on Marquez was called correctly and that El Tri needs to get over it.
“It’s one of the funny things in sport and in football, when you lose you are disappointed, angry, frustrated and it is completely normal, but sometimes people aren’t objective,” Robben told Mexican reporters at the team hotel ahead of the match.
“In the first half there was a clear penalty we didn’t get and the one we did get at the end was also a penalty. People have to live with that.”
When asked if Robben would like to visit Mexico one day, he jokingly told reporters that he would love to, but perhaps he should wait a while on that vacation.
“It might be good to wait a few years, so people calm down and aren’t angry at me, but I know that it is a beautiful country and that it’d be great to visit,” the Dutch captain said.
All good natured fun and jokes aside, both squads will have to put all the off the field issues and talking away and stay focused on the match come Wednesday. Both Mexico and the Netherlands are two of the top 10 teams in the world and their friendly should be a heavyweight fight for the ages.
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