VINA DEL MAR, CHILE – NOV03: El equipo de Mexico obtiene medalla de oro en futbol femenino de los XIX juegos Panamericanos Santiago 2023 realizado en el estadio Elias Figueroa Brander el 03 de Noviembre 2023 en Valparaiso, Chile./ Mexico team wins the gold medal in football match of the 2023 XIX Pan American Games at the Elias Figueroa Brander Stadium on November 03, 2023 in Valparaiso, Chile.
(Foto de Raul Zamora/Santiago 2023 via Photosport)
Four nations battled on Friday for three medals. On one of the corners was Mexico and the USWNT U-19 and in the other, Chile and Argentina. At the end of each 90 minutes, the North Americans were the victors.
USWNT U-19 vs Argentina
This was the second time these teams played each other in the tournament, with the U.S. beating the South Americans 4-0 in the group phase.
Photo: US Soccer
In this game, the Argentinians showed a better defensive game, but when it was time for them to thread an attack, they usually fell short. Despite the organization Argentina showed defensively, the U.S. broke them down after 30 minutes. A long ball that couldn’t be controlled by the Argentines granted possession to the U.S., and Amalia Villarreal ended up beating goalkeeper Vanina Correa.
After that and only seven minutes later, the U-19s doubled the lead when captain Claire Hutton shot from downtown and scored a screamer. Props to Gisele Thompson for creating some space for Hutton after dragging defenders after her.
The second half wasn’t pretty for any team, with them not being able to complete their passes and losing balls easily. Argentina was in a hurry to score at least one goal, and that hastiness didn’t do them any favors.
As a result, the score didn’t change, and the USWNT U-19 secured the bronze medal. There’s no doubt that U.S. Soccer has good material to work with. The youngest squad in the tournament lost only one game and looked solid against senior national teams.
Chile vs México
In the middle of much off-the-field controversy, Chile hosted El Tri Femenil in the game for the gold medal.
Due to poor management from the ANFP, neither star goalkeeper ‘Tiane’ Endler nor second goalkeeper Antonia Canales were available to play in the big final. That meant Chile had to put a field player on goal and hope for the best.
It was good to see that despite the shortage in the roster, the home team showed a lot of grit on the field; the sole goal of Rebeca Bernal for Mexico made the difference in the score. The designated Chilean goalkeeper for this game, María José Urrutia, did well.
Photo: Raul Zamora/Santiago 2023 via Photosport
Of course, she had some nervy moments at the beginning, but after hearing the fans cheering every time she touched the ball and with the support of her teammates, Urrutia grew in confidence and made some good saves during the 90 minutes of the game.
It was an uncomfortable match for both teams, and although Mexico had some advantage over the Chileans, it couldn’t be reflected in the score. If it hadn’t been for the brilliance of Bernal, who knows what would’ve happened in the end.
Photo: Martin Thomas/Santiago 2023 via Photosport
After the goal, Mexico created more opportunities. but despite their eight shots on goal, Urrutia did well stopping some shots with her feet. On the other hand, Esthefanny Barreras didn’t have much work to do, since Chile only had two shots and only one of them was on goal.
As a result, at the end of the 90 minutes, Mexico won the gold medal—their first.
Photo: Martin Thomas/Santiago 2023 via Photosport.
Wednesday brought more action in the Pan American Games. We had interesting results, with the North American teams dominating the competition so far.
USWNT U-19 vs Costa Rica (3-1)
Photo: US Soccer
After beating Bolivia 6-0, the youngest squad in the Games had a tougher task against the Ticas.
USA brought the energy from the very beginning, pressing high and stopping Costa Rica’s intentions to carry the ball further down the pitch.
Katie Collins was highly effective in stopping Gabriella Guillén’s runs down the right wing and in forcing turnovers in the middle. She was one of the best in the field in the first half, and she got her reward early on, when she scored the first goal of the match 10 minutes in.
Costa Rica’s plans got thwarted over and over again, and the USWNT continued generating chances, including a shot by Claire Hutton that hit the crossbar.
Half an hour into the match, the momentum shifted to the Ticas’ side, and they found the equalizer in minute 35′ after a corner. Goalkeeper Sonoma Kasica saved the first header, but the defense couldn’t clear it, and Tanisha Fonseca finished with a header that ended in the back of the net.
The first half ended 1-1, and it took some minutes for both squads to settle in in the second half. Nonetheless, USA took control of the ball once again, just like they did in the first half, and started to generate good looks through players like Amalia Villarreal. The skillful midfielder gave Costa Rica nightmares during the entire game.
The difference in the field was reflected in minute 70′, when Hutton put tipped the score in favor of the USWNT again. She scored a nice goal: dribbling through the Ticas and finishing with a low diagonal shot to beat goalkeeper Priscilla Tapia. Seven minutes later, Emery Adames proved to be an impact sub when she scored the third and final goal of the game.
Paraguay vs Jamaica (10-0)
Photo: Pablo Tomasello/Santiago 2023 via Photosport.
After falling to Chile in their opening match, the Albirroja trashed the Caribbeans in the biggest hammering we have seen in Santiago 2023 so far.
Only six minutes into the game, Lorena Alonso scored the first tally of a half that would finish 4-0, with additional goals by Jessica Martínez, Rebeca Fernández, and Celsa Sandoval. J. Martínez scored a hat trick in the second half, while Sandoval registered a brace. Players Dahiana Bogarin, Ramona Martínez, and Daisy Bareiro also scored, finishing the game 10-0 for Paraguay.
Argentina vs Bolivia (3-0)
Photo: Dedvi Missene/Santiago 2023 vía Photosport
A South American duel played out at Elías Figueroa Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. At the end of the 90 minutes, Argentina got its first win of the competition.
Centerback Aldana Cometti opened the counter, when she scored from a set piece near the box in minute 12′. Argentina’s defenders were on fire against Bolivia, with fullback Eliana Stábile scoring the second at the beginning of the second half, right after head coach Germán Portanova made a triple substitution. The score changed once again, when at the end of the game, center-back Julieta Cruz scored the final goal of the match.
Chile vs Mexico (1-3)
Photo: Martin Thomas/Santiago 2023 via Photosport.
The biggest duel of the day didn’t leave us disappointed. Home team Chile welcomed Mexico at Sausalito Stadium. Fans showed up in the stands to cheer for their national team and made the Mexicans feel the heat.
Both squads came into this match with a win, and both wanted to claim the top spot in the table.
Mexico did a good job in the first half to contain Chile. Scarlett Camberos, who joined the team that week, started and had the difficult task of containing one of the most dangerous players in the Chilean squad in Fernanda Pinilla. The fullback is known for her speed and control of the ball while running and adding herself to the attack on the left flank. The Angel City forward did well, preventing Pinilla from carrying the ball further down the pitch. Any other ball the Chileans sent forward was controlled by Anika Rodríguez, who was also very active in the first half.
Despite the good defensive work, Pinilla was able to break free near minute 40′. That was all Chile needed. María José Urrutia dragged three Mexican defenders along with her, leaving Pinilla unmarked. Goalkeeper Esthefanny Barreras was one or two steps ahead of her goal line. Pinilla saw her opportunity and shot from outside the box. Barreras moved back, but it was too late, and the ball got in.
Chile finished the first half on a high, and Mexico needed to reshape. Due to her defensive duties in this game, Nikki Hernández couldn’t join María Sánchez in the attack. Forward Charlyn Corral wasn’t making much of a difference in the final third and Camberos was also too worried with defensive duties to do much going forward. Kiana Palacios was doing what she could, but she needed someone to provide her balls to be a real threat.
Head coach Pedro López decided to bring Karla Nieto into the fold, and that was exactly what Mexico needed. The Pachuca midfielder brought balance to the midfield and helped Rebeca Bernal and Alexia Delgado.
Twelve minutes into the second half, the visitors found the equalizer thanks to a set piece. Houston Dash’s Sánchez served a curled ball to the far post that Bernal put in the back of the net. Some minutes after that, the coach turned to the bench once again and put Jacquline Ovalle and Diana Ordóñez in. ‘La Maga’ made a huge difference on the field and inclined the balance to the Mexican side. She was winning balls and fouls everywhere, and her skills made it hard for the Chileans to get the ball.
As a consequence, the rest of the game was dominated by the visitors. That momentum was reflected in the score, when Sánchez tallied Mexico’s second goal in the 75th minute and Ordóñez sealed the victory in minute 88’.
Tigres is the most decorated team in Liga MX Femenil (credit: Tigres).
With NWSL turning 11 this year, nobody can deny the league has been through many growing pains. It has taken them several years to get where they are right now, with many sponsors investing their money in it and new teams interested to get into the league every year.
Back in 2013, the Federation of Mexican Football was part of the NWSL, but the lack of playing time given to national team players, among other reasons, ended up drawing Mexican players away. The FMF announced at the beginning of 2016 that they would stop allocating players to the American professional league.
By the end of the same year, Liga MX Femenil was announced, which kicked off in 2017 with the Copa MX Femenil. That cup was a few days long and only 12 teams competed in it—the ones that already had a roster ready to participate in the upcoming league.
Afterwards, the first official tournament began, and Chivas ended up being crowned champions in the inaugural season. Fast forward six years, and it’s incredible to see how much the league has grown.
Making connections
People say there’s strength in numbers, and the United States’ southern neighbors understood that from the beginning. Shortly after the league played its first few seasons, they decided to start making connections.
That’s how they found an ally on the Houston Dash.
It was 2018 and Rayadas de Monterrey decided to play a friendly against the Texan club. A year later, Tigres hosted the Dash. That would not be the last time those two would cross paths because two years later they played a rematch, this time in the Dash field. That was the first time a Mexican team would venture itself into American soil.
Belén Cruz vs Allysha Chapman at PNC Stadium (credit: Tigres)
The Dash, with former coach James Clarkson at the helm, was back then the only NWSL club willing to compete with Mexican teams. A year after the second game against Tigres, they faced Pumas in the 2022 preseason.
By that year, more NWSL teams started to imitate Houston. After establishing records of attendance for a Panamerican league and the Regio teams—Monterrey and Tigres—showing great quality, Mexican clubs started to be included in the conversation. That’s how Rayadas ended up playing the Women’s International Champions Cup in 2022 and beating the Portland Thorns, making it to the highlights of the entire women’s soccer world.
By then, Angel City was playing its first NWSL season, and since the beginning, they’ve made efforts to make their Latino community feel included. In accordance with that, it was announced last May that Angel City and Tigres had signed a partnership for two years, which includes some friendlies among other collaborations.
What is more, Angel City couldn’t resist the appeal Club América has nowadays and invited them to play a friendly on the upcoming Women’s Day on March 8 at Banc of California Stadium.
European teams joining the fun
This year couldn’t have started in a better way for the league, especially for Tigres. Last January, they announced a partnership with one of the mightiest clubs in Germany: Bayern Munich. Said partnership was sealed with a friendly between the teams at the Universitario stadium, with the host getting the win.
In February, Club América announced an alliance with the eight-time Champions League winner Olympique Lyonnais and three-time NWSL Shield winner, OL Reign.
Club América, OL Reign and Olympique Lyonnais closed a historic partnership (credit: Club América)
The partnership with those top teams is one anyone in the world would want. The clubs will share knowledge and skills, exchange information, and play friendlies between them. The deal involves both senior teams and the academies.
The partnership with the OL Group came only six months after America played against German club Bayer Leverkusen, the first European club they crossed paths with.
Tigres’ success and fame internationally are unquestionable, and more teams have been trying to seat with them at the adult table. It was 2020 when Club América assigned Claudia Carrión as sports director, and she has been working hard to put the women’s team on the map ever since. Carrión is responsible for many important player signings, among them club-favorite and former Chicago Red Star Sarah Luebbert.
But what about the other teams? Partnerships and friendlies are being established, little by little. The latest was North Carolina Courage with Rayadas de Monterrey. Both clubs announced they’re playing a couple of friendlies, with the first of them set for March on Mexican soil. Coach Eva Espejo’s team will travel to the United States later this year, at a date to be determined, to see if they can obtain their second victory against an NWSL team.
Giving players a choice
Historically, Mexican players drafted by NWSL teams have had little to no playing time in the league. Some even didn’t get offered a contract after being drafted, and that forced them to look for opportunities somewhere else. Spain was the desired destination for many, but some, like Tigres striker Stephany Mayor, went as far as Iceland to find a team where she would get minutes.
Another good example of this is Club América forward Kiana Palacios. She was drafted by Sky Blue in 2018. After not being offered a contract, she received an offer from the Spaniard club Real Sociedad. Three years later, she landed at Coapa and started, little by little, to become one of the most prolific goal-scorers in the league.
Kiana Palacios is one of the top goal-scorers in the Liga MX Femenil (credit: Club América)
Another americanista who put her name in the NWSL Draft was Scarlett Camberos. In her case, however, she wasn’t drafted by any club. She said last year that back then she did have offers to play in the United States, but after seeing Club América’s facilities, the fans, the training fields, and the Azteca Stadium, she decided to play in México. Camberos is now one of the best on the team and a fan favorite.
Maybe the most resounding case of a player from the United States going to Mexico was forward Mia Fishel. In 2022, she was drafted fifth overall by the Orlando Pride, where her former college coach was. So it was a big slap in the face to the club when it was announced that she was going to play for Tigres instead.
“What I did was historic,” said Fishel back then, and rightly so. She became the first American player to choose to play in Mexico just because she could—and not because she wasn’t wanted in the NWSL. “The rate at which the league has been growing was also very appealing. They’ve only been here for five years or so, and the global media recognition, the passionate fans, playing in [large] stadiums, you just don’t get that in the U.S.,” she said.
Players going from the United States to play in Mexico were the norm until 2021. Last year was historic for the league transfer-wise. In January, Tigres announced they closed a deal with Angel City FC for the Brazilian player Stefany Ferrer. Almost a year later, they closed another deal; this time with Racing Louisville FC for the Nigerian player Uchenna Kanu. Days later, former Rayadas midfielder Bárbara Olivieri was announced as the new Houston Dash signing.
Previous examples show how much these and many other players just needed an opportunity to showcase their talent—and Mexico gave them that chance. Winger María Sanchez was drafted by Chicago Red Stars in 2019, but had only seven appearances in the entire season. The lack of minutes led her to go to Mexico, where she played for Chivas and a year later for Tigres. Once she had her opportunity to showcase her skills to the world, she picked the Dash interest, and they signed her on loan in 2021. A year later, Houston offered her a two-year contract.
Luebbert won the hearts of the fans when she went on loan to Club América, also searching for playing time. She would go back to Chicago in 2022, while Mexican fans would beg for her return. Their prayers were heard, and by the end of the same year, Chicago announced they transferred her permanently to the Coapa club.
The addition of Spanish international Jennifer Hermoso by Pachuca in 2022 left everybody shocked, but it was a great statement made by a club that has bet on their women’s team from the beginning. No wonder another Mexican star who had already left her mark in the Spanish league Spain, Charlyn Corral, decided to play in the same club as well.
As seasons go by, more and more internationals are interested in going to Mexico, and rightly so. The playing time, the quality many of the clubs enjoy, and the salaries are things many players don’t get in their home country leagues.
Still developing
Mexico still has a lot of work to do. Their national team not qualifying for the World Cup was a huge blow, not only to the program but to the self-esteem of the players that week-in and week-out put on great performances for their clubs.
Nonetheless, it seems like the federation has learned from this and started to rebuild its women’s program from the ashes, with a new women’s national team director position and a new coach.
And even though they’re not going to the World Cup this July, they’re not using this year to take a break. They’re using every international window to compete and learn, to test what works and does what not.
Most recently Mexico hosted the Revelations Cup, where they went against three national teams that have qualified for the World Cup in Costa Rica, Colombia, and Nigeria. In the end, Mexico had to battle against the always-tough Colombia and finished raising the Cup.
— Selección Nacional de México Femenil (@Miseleccionfem) February 22, 2023
Another thing they should put their focus on is players’ safety. It has been known that in the past “fans” have been threatened players, stealing their identities, hacking their accounts, harrying and harassing them. And that keeps happening. Tigres center back Greta Espinoza went through this, and recently asked for action in support of América’s Scarlett Camberos, who’s unfortunately going through the same thing.
“The level of harassment I suffered was documented in over 100 slides with irrefutable evidence, and nothing was enough to stop this individual from stopping with the harassment,” Espinoza said on her social media channels. In the same message, she demanded laws to protect them.
Players’ safety should be Mexico soccer’s top priority—especially in a country known for, as Espinoza put it, a “delicate history of frequent harassment towards women and [where] the vast majority of these cases go unpunished.”
Mexico wants to be a powerhouse in women’s soccer, and they’re doing their utmost to reach their goal. That starts with their league, which is one of the most well-organized in the continent—you get the new season schedule two weeks after a tournament is over—and ends with their national team.
If they do things right, in four years they should qualify for the 2027 World Cup with flying colors. And their league will stand among some of the best leagues in the world.
