Their history may be limited, but it has certainly been memorable. We pick the top three clashes between the Group A rivals
Mexico and Bolivia will play the second game of Copa América 2015 in Viña del Mar on Friday.
Both sides head into their Copa opener on the back of defeats against South American heavyweights, with El Tri falling 2-0 to Brazil, while El Verde were thrashed 5-0 by Argentina.
A 1-0 victory for Miguel Herrera’s men in September represents their last encounter, some four months before Mauricio Soria was handed the Bolivia reins.
With the sides hailing from Concacaf and Conmebol respectively, meetings between the pair have been scarce, though Mexico hold a commanding edge, winning eight of their nine previous clashes.
However, that narrow pool has yielded a few special matches, and we pick three of the best, with their latest battle at Estadio Sausalito fast approaching.
MEXICO 5-0 BOLIVIA | 2010 Friendly | San Francisco
San Francisco was the locale as Mexico and Bolivia locked horns in a friendly match five years ago.
Right from the first whistle, El Verde’s goal was under siege, and Pablo Barrera opened the scoring in the third minute.
Ten minutes later, Javier “Chicharito” Hernández supplied the second – his first ever goal for El Tri, coming five months after his international debut.
Chicharito then turned provider to set up Braulio Luna to make it 3-0, before adding his second and Mexico’s fourth with only 20 minutes on the clock.
El Tri eased up in the second half, but Paul Aguilar helped himself to a free header after goalkeeper Daniel Vaca was caught in no man’s land on a set piece.
MEXICO 1-0 BOLIVIA | 1999 Confederations Cup | Mexico City
Mexico and Bolivia squared up in the final Group A match of the 1999 Confederations Cup.
El Tri were hosting the tournament and had already sealed top spot in the group, but with Saudi Arabia thrashing Egypt 5-1 in the other fixture, El Verde needed a win to ensure progression to the semi-finals.
However, it all went pear shaped for them seven minutes into the second half, as Francisco Palencia beat keeper Jose Fernandez to the ball on a corner to head Mexico into the lead.
The Concacaf side would never relinquish that advantage, and would go on to beat the United States in the semi-finals, before overcoming Brazil 4-3 in a classic final to lift the trophy.
BOLIVIA 3-1 MEXICO | 1997 Copa América | La Paz
These teams have met only one time previously in the Copa, during a memorable semi-final clash in the 1997 edition.
Hosts Bolivia had won four straight games to make the last four, conceding only one goal in the process, while Mexico needed penalties to overcome Ecuador in the previous round.
However, the crowd in La Paz were stunned into silence after Nicolás Ramírez converted a free-kick via a deflection off the goalkeeper after eight minutes.
But they would be brought to their feet as Erwin Sánchez crashed in a tremendous 35-yard free-kick off the underside of the bar – with the ball bouncing just over the goal line.
Ramiro Castillo profited from a ricochet on a set-piece to put the hosts in front six minutes before the interval, and Jaime Moreno booked their place in the final with the clincher 11 minutes from time.
However, Bolivia could not repeat the trick in the showpiece, as Brazil scored twice in the final 12 minutes to win 3-1 and seal the Copa. |
