Mexico Eye Azteca Victory Over New Zealand in World Cup Qualifying Match Soccerly
go to original November 11, 2013

Mexico train ahead of their 2014 World Cup qualification matches with New Zealand. (SNTV)

Mexico will seek to put their nightmarish World Cup qualifying campaign behind on Wednesday when they host New Zealand in the first leg of a last-chance intercontinental playoff.

The Mexicans are usually overwhelming favorites against smaller football nations like the 'All Whites' at their imposing, 105,000-capacity Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. But El Tri won just once in five home games in the final qualifying round of the North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) group, finishing fourth out of six teams.

While the United States, Costa Rica and Honduras won direct tickets to Brazil, Mexico barely secured the playoff - a surprisingly poor showing for a powerhouse that was last absent from a World Cup in 1990. The dismal results led the football federation to sack three managers in six weeks, finally handing the reins to Miguel Herrera last month for the two-game playoff.

The outspoken manager, who led Club America to a domestic title this year, voiced confidence that his squad can win at home and in the return leg in New Zealand on November 20.

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