Mexico defeated Uruguay 3-1 on Sunday night at University of Phoenix stadium in their first game of the Copa America Centenario.
As superior as El Tri looked against Uruguay early on, the own goal seemingly gave way to complacency on the pitch. Some players lacked influence while others were relied on too heavily. Uruguay's Matías Vecino's ejection from the game should've opened the game for Mexico to dominate, but Juan Carlos Osorio's men couldn't take advantage.
It wasn't until Uruguay had tied the game and Andrés Guardado had been sent off that Osorio's substitutions began to pay dividends. Goals from Rafael Márquez and Héctor Herrera in the 85th and 92nd minute, respectively, sealed the game for Mexico. With Raúl Jiménez and Hirving Lozano being instrumental in both goals, substitutes may have just saved the day for el Tri.
Man of the Match: Rafael Márquez
As tempting as it was to give this honor to Hirving Lozano for his part in the second half resurgence, Márquez's complete showing was worth this recognition. Defensively, he had a quietly solid performance. Considering his back line consisted of Néstor Araújo—who he'd seldom played with, and Hector Moreno—playing out of position, Márquez provided enough organization and astute defensive skill to anchor the back end through the 90 minutes.
Of course, one can't ignore the all-important goal to regain the advantage for Mexico. El Kaiser lifted his team by the bootstraps and struck with conviction as he has done so many times in the past.
Here are the ratings for the entire Sunday night squad:
Alfredo Talavera: 7
Héctor Moreno: 6.5
Miguel Layún: 6.5
Néstor Araújo: 7.5
Rafael Márquez: 8
Andrés Guardado: 6.5
Diego Reyes: 6
Héctor Herrera: 7
Jesus Corona: 6
Javier Aquino: 7.5
Javier Hernández: 6.5
Substitutes:
Hirving Lozano: 7.5
Jesús Dueñas: 6.5
Raúl Jiménez: 7.5