Mexico vs France Highlights & Review – Olympic Games 22 July 2021
Mexico vs France Review
Vega A.(Lainez D.), Mexico
The ball hits the back of the net! Diego Lainez showcases his brilliant technique and produces a beautiful lofted cross into the box. Alexis Vega (Mexico) gets onto the scoresheet by sweetly heading it low inside the right post – 1:0.
Gignac A.(Penalty), France
Goal! Andre-Pierre Gignac (France) wins the battle of wills and sends an unstoppable penalty past Guillermo Ochoa into the bottom right corner.
Antuna U.(Romo L.), Mexico
Uriel Antuna (Mexico) breaks through before collecting a brilliant pass and producing a precise strike to beat the goalkeeper. The ball went into the bottom left corner.
Aguirre E., Mexico
Eduardo Aguirre (Mexico) receives a super pass into the box and shoots into the top right corner. What a nice goal!
That’s it for today, Chris Beath has blown his whistle and the game is over.
Mexico Hit France for Four in Olympic Opener
Mexico made the perfect start to their Olympic Games campaign with a convincing 4-1 win over a disappointing France side at the Tokyo Stadium. Second-half goals from Alexis Vega, Sebastián Córdova, Uriel Antuna, and Eduardo Aguirre ultimately proved to be the difference in this Group A opener.
Real Betis winger Diego Lainez was identified as one of the Mexico’s key players pre-tournament, and he lived up to his billing after playing a superb ball through to Vega, but Modibo Sagnan was on hand to clear Vega’s effort off the line. Moments later, Lainez went on a mazy run through the French defence but his cut-back just missed the waiting Henry Martín inside the box, before Luis Romo headed over from the resulting corner.
Mexico almost broke the deadlock in emphatic fashion within a minute of the restart when Córdova’s acrobatic effort hit the post, but they did find a breakthrough moments later. Lainez brilliantly weaved his way down the right and played a perfectly-weighted cross to Vega, whose downward header flew past Paul Bernardoni.
Jaime Lozano’s team were playing with confidence and added a second goal in the 55th minute through Cordova, who rifled in a superb left-footed strike to compound French misery. However, France were given an unexpected lifeline when César Montes brought down Kolo Muani. André-Pierre Gignac’s resulting penalty squirmed beneath Guillermo Ochoa, much to the annoyance of ‘El Tri’s’ shot-stopper.
Sylvain Ripoll’s side were buoyed by the goal and progressed forward with added urgency, but Antuna effectively killed the game as a contest after he was allowed to cut in from the right and clip a left-footed strike in off the post. A fourth was added in stoppage time courtesy of Aguirre, who blasted home a close-range effort to cap off a thoroughly impressive display from the Central American team.