Mexico struggles, but still reaches Gold Cup semis

	MAILBAG Submit a comment or question for Luis. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Mexico's win against Costa Rica on Sunday wasn't pretty. The beautiful game was hardly on display in Houston's Reliant Stadium, as El Tri struggled with an undermanned Costa Rican side as fouls, dives and cards dominated.

But it was enough, and at this point enough is plenty.

After needing extra time to notch a 1-0 win over Costa Rica in the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals, Mexico is one step closer to winning its first tournament since 2003.

This Mexican team is still trying to find its identity, still trying to put its stamp on the region and find its swagger.

Perhaps now that Mexico has overcome its spotty play in the first round, it can find its form in Chicago. Now that El Tri is in the semifinals, the ever-present pressure it faces has changed. Before Sunday, the fear was that Mexico would falter in coach Hugo Sánchez's first elimination match as coach, and that El Tri would look bad while doing so.

Now, however, the pressure is what El Tri has dealt with over the years: the demands from its faithful supporters and critical media to win.

A winning mentality is what Sánchez promised when he took over as coach in November, but it is hardly what Mexico had delivered before Sunday. Sánchez lost to Paraguay in his first game in the Estadio Azteca as coach, then lost to Honduras in the second match of the Gold Cup.

An elimination-round victory, though, is what Sánchez and El Tri served up on Sunday. However unsightly it appeared, Mexico achieved its objective and moved on to the semifinals.

Still, Mexico must improve from its collective efforts if it wants to play in next Sunday's final. While beating a Costa Rican side that showed hardly anything in this tournament was sufficient on Sunday, a similar effort might not produce similar results.

Mexico survived without three key players available. Nery Castillo, El Tri's revelation of the tournament, was unavailable due to yellow-card accumulation, as were Pavel Pardo and Francisco "Kikín" Fonseca.

To make up for Pardo's absence, Sánchez started Jaime Lozano for the first time this tournament. Lozano, though, formed a somewhat awkward midfield line with Andrés Guardado, Gerardo Torrado and Alberto Medina. Guardado and Lozano are both best-suited for a left midfielder's role.

Still, the pairing worked as Costa Rica's possession was mostly nonexistent and inconsequential. After Aleman's red-card, Mexico had three first-half minutes and all of halftime to adjust, but forwards Jared Borgetti and Omar Bravo seemed to lack touch and confidence in front of the goal.

Second-half substitutes Cuauhtémoc Blanco and Adolfo "Bofo" Bautista entered the match and made an immediate difference. Partly because of their collective dives and partly because of their vision and passing, Mexico's game raised somewhat but the match still went into extra time with no score.