Mexico U23 4-2 Netherlands U23: El Tri, Fabian make Toulon history
Posted Thursday, May 31, 2012 by YAHOO Sport
Mexico's U23 squad overcame early defensive troubles to defeat the Netherlands and clinch a spot in the Toulon Tournament final for the first time in the team's history.
El Tri continued their blistering offensive pace, with Chivas star Marco Fabian appearing on the score sheet yet again, bagging his seventh goal of the tournament and tying Alan Shearer for the all-time Toulon high in the process.
But the match began negatively for Luis Fernando Tena's boys. A quick Netherlands strike by Ricky van Haaren put Mexico behind after another defensive error by a shaky backline.
Hector Herrera responded quickly and drew level for Mexico before the dynamic of the match could change too much.
The promise of an offensively spectacular game was confirmed when van Haaren put his second goal away just six minutes after Herrera's strike, making it 2-1.
Netherlands then attempted to grasp the lead firmly by switching up the defensive tactics, and went into halftime sporting a slim lead.
In the second half, Mexico's youngest player, 18-year-old Candido Ramirez provided a spectacular finish in which he left a pair of Dutch defenders in his wake before chipping to put the game back on equal terms.
The parity didn't last long. Raul Jimenez combined forces with the inspired Ramirez to give Mexico its first lead of the match and force the Netherlands towards an all-out attack.
Fully geared for a counterattack, Marco Fabian dashed the Dutch hopes for extra time by scoring his seventh goal of the tournament and putting Mexico ahead 4-2 with just a few minutes left.
With the result, Mexico moves on to face either France or Turkey next Thursday at the Stade Perruc.
El Tri continued their blistering offensive pace, with Chivas star Marco Fabian appearing on the score sheet yet again, bagging his seventh goal of the tournament and tying Alan Shearer for the all-time Toulon high in the process.
But the match began negatively for Luis Fernando Tena's boys. A quick Netherlands strike by Ricky van Haaren put Mexico behind after another defensive error by a shaky backline.
Hector Herrera responded quickly and drew level for Mexico before the dynamic of the match could change too much.
The promise of an offensively spectacular game was confirmed when van Haaren put his second goal away just six minutes after Herrera's strike, making it 2-1.
Netherlands then attempted to grasp the lead firmly by switching up the defensive tactics, and went into halftime sporting a slim lead.
In the second half, Mexico's youngest player, 18-year-old Candido Ramirez provided a spectacular finish in which he left a pair of Dutch defenders in his wake before chipping to put the game back on equal terms.
The parity didn't last long. Raul Jimenez combined forces with the inspired Ramirez to give Mexico its first lead of the match and force the Netherlands towards an all-out attack.
Fully geared for a counterattack, Marco Fabian dashed the Dutch hopes for extra time by scoring his seventh goal of the tournament and putting Mexico ahead 4-2 with just a few minutes left.
With the result, Mexico moves on to face either France or Turkey next Thursday at the Stade Perruc.
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