World Cup Soccer Live 2014: Mexico Suffers 1-0 Loss in Friendly Match Against Bosnia Before Brazil Tournament
Mexico took their first loss under head coach Miguel Herrera after absorbing a 1-0 loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in their pre-World Cup friendly on Tuesday night in Chicago.
Izet Hajrovic scored the lone goal of the match when he launched a left-footed strike in the 41st minute of the match off a feed from midfielder Sejad Salihovic -- a shot that went past diving Mexican goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera.
Bosnia, who will be making their debut in a World Cup tournament, had several chances to score in the early goings of the match, leaning on the aggressiveness of striker Edin Dzeko, who had three tries in the first eight minutes of the match.
Bosnian coach Safet Susic praised his team for their effort, proving that they will not be a pushover in the upcoming World Cup in Brazil.
"We definitely want to show the world that we're not there by accident," Susic said via the Chicago Tribune. "We have very, very good players and as most of the teams participating in the World Cup we have ambitions to get past the first round."
Mexico dominated the stat sheet for the entire match, but they failed to break Bosnia's defense led by Asmir Begovic.
Mexican fan favorite Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez rifled a shot that hit the left post in the 24th minute, but the Manchester City forward was stopped in his tracks from then on.
Mexico had a chance to score an equalizer in the 86th minute, but Begovic made a sensational save on Francisco Rodriguez's header. Miguel Ponce also attempted a long-range kick that was also denied by Begovic.
"There were some shots that Begovic saves really well," Hernandez said. "That's part of football, thankfully this was not the World Cup."
Mexican team captain Rafael Marquez, who did not play on Tuesday night, was not impressed with his team's performance, but he is optimistic about their chances in the upcoming Brazil tournament.
"It was not the best game for Mexico but we need this need this to continue (and) have a good performance in the next game," Marquez said.
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