Cocca, there’s work ahead

Argentine Diego Cocca, Mexico coach, acknowledged on Thursday that Suriname, 139 in the FIFA rankings, is a difficult opponent and has work to do after being beaten 0-2 in the Concacaf Nations League.

“Today we won against a difficult rival and we will draw many conclusions, but the key is that when all the games are over, we have growth and I have no doubts that it will be like that,” said the coach in a press. meeting

In his first game in charge of the tri, Cocca guided Mexico to victory over Suriname, with a goal from Johan Vásquez and an own goal from Damil Dankerlui.

Although Suriname is not in the top 10 in Concacaf, in the first half it was better than Mexico, which the Mexican coach welcomed, with praise for his opponent.

“It was an interesting match, with an opponent with speed at the highest level and asking us to make good decisions, not to be left in a bad light, because the offensive transitions that have they are wonderful,” he said.

The strategist revealed that at halftime he spoke with his players and it influenced a better performance in the second half where they signed the victory.

“In the second half, they came out a little differently, they understood how to solve the game, that’s what we learn together and we all try to have the same idea. So they understood it, they solved it, and we won. It’s always important to start winning,” he concluded.

With the victory, Mexico reached two wins, one draw and seven points and topped Group A of the League of Nations, ahead of Jamaica, with five points, and Suriname, with one.

Mexico will host Jamaica at the Azteca stadium next Sunday, in the team’s first home match, with Cocca as coach.

The strategist was chosen to guide Mexico to the 2026 World Cup, after the failure of Qatar 2022, where the team, led by Argentine Gerardo Martino, was eliminated in the group stage, after seven consecutive World Cups in the round of 16 .