Mexico thrashes Serbia and arrives ready for World Cup debut

Mexico ended its preparation for the World Cup with a 5-1 rout of Serbia, on Thursday night (4), and gained confidence for its debut in the tournament, which will be played at home starting next week.

The Serbs opened the scoring in the 19th minute of the first half. After a defensive failure by the Mexican team and a favorable deflection, Petar Stanic finished low to beat goalkeeper Raul Rangel.

The hosts' reaction began in the 34th minute, when defender Johan Vásquez equalized with a header from Brian Gutierrez's cross.

In stoppage time of the initial stage, Serbia made a decisive error. A mistaken save by Stefan Bukinac went past goalkeeper Filip Stankovic and ended up in the back of the net, creating the Mexican comeback with an own goal.

The third goal came 12 minutes into the second half. Julián Quiñones hit the post and, on the rebound, the ball hit Raúl Jiménez before going in.

The lead increased in the 27th minute, when Adem Avdic deflected the ball past Alexis Vega's corner.

In the final minutes, Luis Chávez completed the rout with a beautiful long-range shot, consolidating the 5-1 victory.

After the final whistle, fireworks lit up the Nemesio Diez Stadium as the team said goodbye before the World Cup. Mexico debuts in the competition next Thursday (11) against South Africa, in the opening of the tournament that it organizes alongside the United States and Canada.

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Source: CNN