00:00For the first time since 1986, Mexico won a World Cup knockout match.
00:06And I can tell you this, by the way they looked against Ecuador,
00:10El Tri's run is far from over.
00:12But don't believe me if you don't want to.
00:14Spanish play-by-play broadcaster for NYCFC and MLS, Roberto Abramowitz,
00:20is on to talk about Mexico's historic win and, of course,
00:24their chances of actually winning it all.
00:27Roberto, appreciate you hopping on with us today.
00:29What a match last night.
00:31You were born here in New York City, but you were raised in Mexico City.
00:37So what did that win mean, not just for the team overall,
00:41but for the entire country's football history
00:45and the pressure that's been hanging over El Tri for around four decades now?
00:51It's a lot, right?
00:53Well, look, Mexican fans, so many of them, not everybody, but so many of them,
00:57and it's more than you probably think.
00:58Really identify strongly with the team.
01:01It's a national and personal pride thing that they have, right?
01:06More than anything that we're accustomed to seeing here in the United States.
01:09Okay, so let's compare it to what New Yorkers just went through
01:12with the Knicks and the pride that they felt last month, all right?
01:15I mean, that was amazing, correct?
01:17Okay, multiply that by 1,000, okay?
01:21That's the way it is in Mexico.
01:23I mean, you see it with celebrations on Reforma next to the Angel and everything else.
01:27But anyway, the curse has always been, Brandon, getting to the round of 16.
01:31They haven't done that in 40 years.
01:33And then get past it, right?
01:35So Mexico has a record in knockout matches in the World Cup of two wins and nine losses,
01:42including last night.
01:43So as you said, since 1986, they haven't won a knockout match.
01:47And they did that by beating Bulgaria in Azteca in the round of 16.
01:53So they snapped a 40-year drought on Tuesday.
01:56Also, next game is in Azteca.
01:58So it should bode pretty well for them.
02:00I think they're going to be very, very confident for their next game.
02:04And they're looking like they could be one of the dark horses in this tournament.
02:09I mean, you watch them play.
02:11They're playing with confidence.
02:12They're playing with moxie style.
02:14I mean, they look like they're having fun out there.
02:16And every tournament has a team that catches fire at the right time.
02:21And I feel like that's El Tree.
02:23So looking ahead, they're going to either have to face England or DR Congo in the round of 16.
02:30For you, what matchup would you rather see?
02:33And how realistic is a deep run into the quarterfinals or even beyond?
02:40All right.
02:41So let's say, OK, so England plays today against Congo.
02:44England is the number 14 in the world, if you believe the FIFA rankings.
02:48And Congo is listed at 46.
02:50So they play in Atlanta.
02:52England doesn't really have a good record in Estadio Azteca.
02:55So let's assume, OK, that chalk holes in England wins, right?
03:00So and this should be pretty worrisome for English fans.
03:03Their overall record in Azteca is one win, three losses and two ties.
03:10So including one of those ties was a loss to West Germany in penalty kicks.
03:15So they've never faced, they have faced Mexico twice in Azteca.
03:19They had a friendly in 69, which they tied.
03:22And then in 1985, they had a tournament called Ciudad de Mexico, which was like sort of previewing the 1986
03:29World Cup.
03:30And they lost 1-0 on a Luis Flores goal.
03:33So the only true win that they've had was in the round of 16 in 1986 when they beat Paraguay
03:40pretty handily by a score of 3-0.
03:43Then they came back and played a couple of games later against Argentina.
03:49And they lost that game, if you're famous or remember, by 2-1.
03:52That was a hand of God game where Maradona punched the ball in.
03:57And everybody in the stadium except for the referees saw that.
03:59So they don't have a great record there.
04:02And Mexico has just been absolutely fantastic playing in Azteca.
04:09So it's a situation where, you know, it won't be an easy game for England.
04:15And it would be a game that Mexico probably feels pretty confident about.
04:20When you look at how they have been elite defensively, all four games have been clean sheets.
04:30Then you got guys like Chavez.
04:32You got guys like Jimenez scoring goals.
04:36Can you, is it safe to say that we can look at Mexico as a legitimate World Cup contender that's
04:43capable of winning it all?
04:45And what do you think would have to happen for El Tri to finally lift that trophy?
04:50Well, what would have to happen is that Gianni Infantino, as he does, right, likes to make decisions at the
04:57last second and change things around.
04:58So if Gianni Infantino decides that Mexico has earned the right to play all their games at Azteca,
05:04and he changes that and leaves them in Azteca for the entire run.
05:09Now, their next game against England is allegedly the last one, right?
05:13Or that's really supposed to be the last game in Azteca.
05:16Yeah. In the World Cup right now, they have a record of eight wins and two ties throughout their history.
05:23And as you said, right, they haven't allowed a goal so far in this World Cup.
05:28Their record at Azteca all time, right?
05:3193 games, 68 wins, 7 losses, 17 ties.
05:34That is pretty damn impressive.
05:37But if they wind up beating England, then the rest of their games are in the United States.
05:42Things change there.
05:43They're not as good there as they would be playing in Azteca.
05:48It is a true home field advantage at 7,250 feet overseas level.
05:54Well, you know, El Tri, the fans, they travel.
05:57So depending on where they play in the United States and who they play,
06:01it could be still a home game for Mexico just on U.S. soil.
06:05But when we talk about the football culture here in North America,
06:09when we look at the host nations, Canada, USA, Mexico,
06:13would you say that Mexico is the best host nation in this World Cup?
06:20I don't know if I can discuss.
06:21I mean, I think they've all been wonderful.
06:24I've been to two games here in the United States.
06:26I went to Philadelphia to see Cote d'Ivoire against Curaçao.
06:30And then I went to MetLife yesterday for Sweden and France.
06:35And the experiences were wonderful.
06:36The experiences of being able to watch a soccer game in Mexico is also absolutely brilliant.
06:42I'm sure that in Canada they've been fantastic as well.
06:46There's more of a soccer culture, obviously, in Mexico than there is in the United States and in Canada.
06:51But a lot of that soccer culture that we have here is thanks to Mexico, right?
06:56I mean, it has always been known that the favorite team in the United States is a Mexican national team.
07:04They get the highest ratings.
07:06They get the most people going to their games when, you know, they have the Mex tours here.
07:10So I think it's pretty even because I don't want to denigrate any other country by highlighting another country.
07:18But it's very, very special to have Mexico as a whole.
07:23So they've done it three times now.
07:24And every single game and every single World Cup that they've had has been just absolutely fabulous.
07:31Well, Roberto, thank you for your time today, my man.
07:34And congratulations on the historic win.
07:37Thank you very much.
07:38At the U.S. place tonight, that should be wild.
