LUSAIL, Qatar — Mexico manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino knows that his squad need an exceptional performance against Saudi Arabia in the final game of the World Cup group stage, noting that they must find the back of the net several times to qualify for the knockout round.
“As long as we still have chances, we’ll try. We need to score at least three goals,” said the manager after Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Argentina that left the CONCACAF side in last place in Group C.
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With a previous 0-0 draw with Poland in their opener earlier this week, El Tri remain without a goal and have just a single point in the group stage. In order to qualify for the knockout rounds, Mexico will not only need to defeat Saudi Arabia, but hope the result in the other game between Poland and Argentina works in their favor.
The most ideal situation is a win for Poland, which would then set up Mexico to go through with any victory over Saudi Arabia. Anything outside of that would require goal differential to come into play, meaning scoring “at least three goals” will be crucial.
If Poland lose, Mexico will need to overturn a four-goal disadvantage in goal differential.
