Mexico vs. Portugal Player Ratings: Cristiano Ronaldo Absence Stings

On a night full of intensity but lacking action in either penalty area, the Mexico national team managed a 0–0 draw against a Portugal side notably missing Cristiano Ronaldo. Even the neutral was left to lament the star striker’s absence.

Portugal dominated possession ever since the clock hit the 10-minute mark and should’ve taken a lead before the break, but Gonçalo Ramos forgot to pack his shooting boots and twice missed from close range.

Although Portugal’s control of the game resumed in the second half, it was El Tri who had the best chance to win the game late, yet Armando González dragged his header wide in a jaw-dropping miss.

A gritty and tireless Mexico fought admirably, and securing a scoreless draw against one of the best national teams in the world is a positive result. Nevertheless, Javier Aguirre’s side once again looked devoid of imagination and completely toothless in attack, a trend that likely won’t change before the World Cup.

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Still, considering the gap in quality, El Tri competed well, the mission will be to improve or at least replicate the result in three days time against a Belgium side that destroyed the USMNT earlier in the day, and this time, Mexico won’t have altitude nor the Estadio Azteca as its ally.

Winners and Losers

Winners

Israel Reyes may have guaranteed his place in Mexico’s XI in the opening game of the World Cup with his defensive showing against Portugal. The right back was an impenetrable force, convincing Portugal to concentrate its attacks down the opposite flank.

Playing away from his natural position as a striker, Julián Quiñones proved his quality as a playmaker from deep and was Mexico’s best player in the second half. He dropped to midfield to help as an outlet and drove João Neves crazy. A perfect delivery should’ve become an assist were it not for a poor header. Still, the forward made the most of his time on the pitch.

Samú Costa was either making crucial challenges in defense, unbalancing Portugal’s midfield or trying his luck from range. He was excellent, unfortunately for the Mallorca player, Vitinha—the man ahead of him in the pecking order—was even better in the second half. The Paris Saint-Germain star dominated, constantly feeding Pedro Neto, who was an absolute nightmare down the right wing after the break.

Losers

With so many injuries in midfield, Obed Vargas had a dream chance to show his quality, but the Atlético Madrid youngster looked nervous from the jump and failed to offer anything significant in possession. In fact, a careless giveaway nearly cost Mexico early in the opening stages. The lights seemed a little too bright for the inexperienced midfielder.

If Armando González wants to earn a spot in Mexico’s roster as a backup striker, then he can’t have misses like the free header from inside the six-yard box he pulled went wide. Fortunately for him, fellow fringe striker Germán Berterame was nowhere to be found during his 25-minute cameo.

Sticking with poor center forward play, Gonçalo Ramos had two egregious misses in the first half for Portugal. Nights like this make it hard to think Ramos can challenge Cristiano Ronaldo for the starting striker role come the World Cup. His unconvincing performance in attack was only one-upped by Gonçalo Guedes, who was shocking in the second half.

Mexico Player Ratings vs. Portugal (4-3-3)

Álvaro Fidalgo. — Álvaro Fidalgo made his highly anticipated debut with El Tri. | Mauricio Salas/Jam Media/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Raúl Rangel—7.3: Stood firm to save an absolute rocket from Costa and his distribution was stellar as usual. A confidence-boosting display to quiet those who are calling for Guillermo Ochoa to start.

RB: Israel Reyes—7.5: His trademarked cross-pitch diagonal passes to free Jesús Gallardo down the other wing were an avenue to escape Portugal’s press. Fantastic defensively, standing his ground against Nuno Mendes and João Félix before dominating Guedes after the break. A standout performer.

CB: César Montes—6.7: A couple of mistimed challenges allowed Portuguese attackers to get looks on goal. Still, he won the vast majority of his duels in the air.

CB: Johan Vásquez—6.9: Was rarely troubled but had a few instances where he looked afraid to get get tight to Francisco Conceição, presumably because of his speed. One of those occasions resulted in Portugal’s best chance of the night.

LB: Jesús Gallardo—6.6: Tirelessly darted forward to offer Mexico width and depth down the left flank. Had a very competitive individual battle with Matheus Nunes on both ends of the pitch. Struggled against Neto in the second half.

DM: Erik Lira—6.6: Edson Álvarez wasn’t missed and it’s all because of how solid Lira continues to perform in the heart of midfield. His pressing led to recoveries inside Portugal’s halfway line and his tight marking nullified Bruno Fernandes.

CM: Obed Vargas—6.2: Nearly gifted Portugal a dream chance with a careless turnover, somewhat settled as the game went on but couldn’t make his presence felt in midfield.

CM: Álvaro Fidalgo—6.2: Had a very positive start, finding space between the lines to receive the ball and began pulling the strings of Mexico’s best passage of play. His influence dropped as the minutes ticked on, but it was a fine debut from the Real Betis man.

RM: Roberto Alvarado—6.6: His defensive work against Nuno Mendes was stellar, but he had little to no impact in attack. Improved in the second half against João Cancelo but was substituted when he was at his best.

ST: Raúl Jiménez—6.4: Stellar with his back to goal, serving as an outlet for Mexico to bypass Portugal’s press. Will be frustrated he never had a clean look on goal.

LM: Brian Gutiérrez—6.8: Had the freedom to drift centrally to more familiar areas, linking up with other midfielders to create numerical advantages in the middle of the park. His quality as a ball carrier were key for El Tri’s most menacing actions of the first half.

SUB: Carlos Rodríguez (46’ for Vargas)—6.3: Got away with a clumsy turnover early in his cameo but that was the only blemish in an otherwise fine showing.

SUB: Julián Quiñones (46’ for Gutiérrez)—6.9: Mexico’s best, most dangerous player of the second half. An even more impressive cameo considering most of his interventions came near the halfway line, far from the dangerous areas he usually operates in.

SUB: Erick Sánchez (60’ for Fidalgo)—6.5: Made a few nice runs but his best moments came defensively with a couple of key interceptions.

SUB: Richard Ledezma (60’ for Alvarado)—6.3: His introduction to play as a right winger says a lot about what Aguirre thinks of Ledezma—a natural right back—defensively.

SUB: Germán Berterame (60’ for Jiménez)—5.9: A complete non-factor.

SUB: Everardo López (78’ for Gallardo)—5.8: Could only muster one touch.

SUB: Armando González (74’ for Lira)—5.9: They keep saying he’s the second coming of Javier “Chicharito” Hernández. Tonight, his incredible late miss unfortunately brought back memories of some of his idol’s biggest lowlights.

Subs not used: Carlos Acevedo (GK), Guillermo Ochoa (GK), Alexis Vega, Jesús Angulo, Guillermo Martínez, Denzell García, Jorge Sánchez, Orbelín Pineda.

Portugal Player Ratings vs. Mexico (4-2-3-1)

Pedro Neto energized Portugal’s attack. | Mauricio Salas/Jam Media/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Rui Silva—7.3: Handled the only shot that came his way with confidence and his distribution was on point.

RB: Matheus Nunes—6.7: Had a very nice challenge to thwart what had all the makings of a very dangerous Gallardo incursion early in the game. Appeared free multiple times in the right half-space, confusing Mexican markers who seemed to expect him near the touchline.

CB: António Silva—6.4: A field day for the young center back, who was never bothered defensively. Often involved in buildup.

CB: Renato Veiga—7.0: Struggled to prevent Jiménez from working effectively with his back to goal, fouling him on a number of occasions. Mysteriously left González completely unmarked in the action that nearly cost Portugal the game.

LB: Nuno Mendes—6.3: Kept Alvarado in his pocket defensively but didn’t have his usual impact in attack.

DM: Samú Costa—7.0: The definition of a midfield anchor. Quietly did the dirty work cleaning up defensively, was always open to receive and recycle possession and granted freedom to Portugal’s more creative players. A very encouraging showing from the Mallorca man.

DM: Rúben Neves—6.5: Quarterbacked Portugal’s possessions and was the first pass out of the back in build-up. The game was played at his tempo.

RW: Francisco Conceição—5.9: Couldn’t get much of anything going in attack and lacked aggressiveness in the one instance he had time and space to showcase his quality in the final third.

AM: Bruno Fernandes—7.2: The Manchester United talisman was erratic and never felt truly comfortable. Still, when he had time and room to operate, he showed flashes of his difference-making quality, especially in the second half.

LW: João Félix—6.1: Had freedom to roam all over Portugal’s attack. Constantly involved but never where he’s at his most dangerous.

ST: Gonçalo Ramos—6.8: Isolated up front the entire match, he struggled to get involved. Still, he wasted two dream opportunities from close range.

SUB: João Cancelo (46’ for Mendes)—6.4: Forced his goalkeeper to make an emergency clearance after a risky pass was nearly intercepted. Was fine aside from that action.

SUB: Tomás Araújo (46’ for A. Silva)—6.3: Much like the man he replaced, Araújo simply dedicated himself to making routine passes.

SUB: Diogo Dalot (46’ for Nunes)—6.5: Combined well with Neto down the wing in a nice cameo from the Man United man.

SUB: João Neves (46’ for R. Neves)—6.8: Not particularly solid from Neves, who didn’t have the intensity the game required since coming on. Was late to challenges and was lucky not to get booked.

SUB: Vitinha (46’ for Costa)—7.3: His introduction completely changed the game as he accelerated Portugal’s tempo and the entire team played some 30-yards further up the pitch. Mexico barely sniffed the ball in the second half and it was mostly due to Vitinha’s dominance.

SUB: Gonçalo Guedes (46’ for Félix)—5.9: A very poor cameo from Guedes, who seemingly lost the ball every time he touched it.

SUB: Pedro Neto (46’ for Conceição)—6.9: Got into a scuffle early in his cameo and that seemed to ignite him. He was Portugal’s most dangerous player in the second half with darting runs an nice combinations that compromised Mexico’s backline.

SUB: Paulinho (64’ for Ramos)—5.9: Got a massive cheer when he came on but unfortunately for the best striker in Liga MX, he never got a chance to get showcase his finishing quality.

SUB: Trincão (81’ for Fernandes)—N/A

Subs not used: José Sá (GK), Ricardo Velho (GK), Gonçalo Inácio, Matheus Fernandes, Pedro Gonçalves, Ricardo Horta.

What the Ratings Tell Us

Raul Rangel, Bruno Fernandes — Raúl Rangel (left) denied Bruno Fernandes from a clear chance. | Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images

Guillermo Ochoa participating in his sixth World Cup is a testament to his durability and status as one of the greatest goalkeepers in Mexico’s history. But Raúl Rangel’s performance tonight once again made it abundantly clear there shouldn’t be any question of who the World Cup starter between the posts should be.
Brian Gutíerrez is making the most of his chances since making his El Tri debut in January. The Chivas midfielder looked unfazed by the stage and continues to make a case to be included in the World Cup roster. He most certainly earned another look against Belgium.
Neto should be Portugal’s right winger come the World Cup over Conceição. And across the world, Rafael Leão will also be smiling given it remains clear he’s Roberto Martínez’s best option on the left wing.
His numbers on the night might be solid, but Renato Veiga’s performance was far from confidence inspiring and Rúben Dias will walk back into the lineup come the summer.

The Numbers That Explain Dull Draw Inside Vibrant Estadio Azteca

Both Portugal and Mexico combined to produce just three shots on target the entire game. Only one of those came in the second half.
Mexico only had seven touches inside Portugal’s box compared to 27 from the visitors. Despite that lopsided statistic, Portugal could only generate two big chances, only one more than El Tri.
There were only nine successful dribbles between both teams in the entirety of the contest.

Statistic	Mexico	Portugal
Posession	33%	67%
Total Shots	7	10
Shots on Target	1	2
Big Chances	1	2
Pass Accuracy	78%	90
Fouls	12	9
Corners	0	4