Mexico shows it's ready for breakthrough with rout

	Nery Castillo celebrates one of his two goals in Sunday's rout of Paraguay. MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images
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Once again, Mexico is carrying the CONCACAF flag abroad.

While El Tricolor has yet to solve its United States riddle -- at least on American soil -- Mexico is nonetheless flexing its muscle in South America.

Mexico flattened an undermanned Paraguay squad 6-0 in the Copa América quarterfinals on Sunday, and suddenly the Gold Cup letdown is fading in the distance.

Sure, Mexico won't participate in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, but El Tri would likely trade a date in South Africa two years from now for a legitimate chance of winning its first Copa América title.

Mexico has been a willing participant in the Copa since 1993 and typically sends strong teams. The chance of playing against Brazil, Argentina and the rest of the strong South American field was too good to pass up, and Mexico has benefited. By beating Paraguay, it has now beat every South American team in Copa play at least once save for Bolivia.

Results have consistently improved, though Mexico has not yet reached a World Cup quarterfinal or won a Copa América title. Still, El Tri remains a threat in any tournament which it participates.

El Tri's match on Sunday could not have worked out any better had coach Hugo Sánchez written the script himself. Paraguayan goalkeeper Aldo Bobadilla was sent off in the second minute after tripping Mexican forward Nery Castillo inside the penalty area. Mexico was awarded a spot kick and Castillo scored the only goal El Tri would need.

What followed was a confidence-building 87-minute goal fest. Reduced to 10 men, Paraguay did little to stop mighty Mexico. Castillo scored again and Gerardo Torrado also scored in the first half.

Paraguay put forth a valiant effort for the first part of the second half but Oswaldo Sánchez stepped up when called upon and made a few key saves. Afterward, though, the flood gates open. Fernando Arce, Cuauhtémoc Blanco and Omar Bravo tallied in the second half as El Tri did what it needed to do and thoroughly whipped a 10-man side.

Now, Mexico will move on to a semifinal matchup against Argentina winner. Already, though, Hugo Sánchez has achieved his goal of reaching the tournament's final four. What makes the accomplishment more impressive, however, is Mexico's supposedly sub-par roster.

With Carlos Salcido, Pavel Pardo and Ricardo Osorio unavailable, future stars Carlos Vela and Giovanni dos Santos defending the young Mexicans' honor at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, Sánchez has nevertheless found a successful lineup buoyed by players who had never before worn the Mexico kit.

Though Castillo has spent years with Olympiakos, he hadn't played at the international level before June. Without having played with any of the Mexican players before, Castillo has nevertheless fit right in and has instantly become an integral part of Sánchez's team. Castillo's two goals Sunday added to his impressive strike against Brazil in a 2-0 win June 27.

Before the tournament, Sánchez dumped Francisco "Kikín" Fonseca from the Gold Cup squad and called in Juan Carlos Cacho of Pachuca. A fan favorite, Fonseca hasn't exactly been missed. Neither has Jared Borgetti, El Tri's all-time leading scorer.

Unknowns at the international level a few months ago, Castillo and Cacho have stated their cases for starting spots on Mexico.

Fausto Pinto, Jonny Magallón and Jaime Correa have shown enough to give El Tri confidence when Salcido, Osorio and Pardo are unavailable -- or in this case unwilling -- to participate with the Mexican national team.

Veterans such as Torrado and Rafael Márquez -- who gladly gave up part of his summer break to guide Mexico's defense in Venezuela -- have helped the younger players develop and will continue to help Mexico grow stronger in the future.

For now, the future is Wednesday. Mexico has a chance to reach its third final, and while the '93 squad wasn't quite experienced enough to handle Argentina in the final that year, and the '01 team couldn't handle the Colombian crowd, this team has the makings of a champion.

Whether or not Mexico can overcome its World Cup and Copa America failures will ultimately decide if El Tri can reach the final.