Mexico Falls 3-2 to Jamaica in Nations League Quarterfinal First Leg

Jamaica — Jamaica beat Mexico 3-2 on Saturday in the first leg of their Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal, leaving Rafael Márquez’s team needing a comeback in Monterrey to keep their tournament alive.

Mexico trailed 3-0 before scoring twice in the final 20 minutes, and the two away goals give El Tri a route back into the tie ahead of Tuesday’s return leg at Estadio BBVA.

A disastrous start for El Tri

The first blow landed in the 28th minute when Jesús Gallardo turned a corner into his own net, an own goal that put the Reggae Boyz in front in front of their home crowd.

Mexico could not respond before the break and went into the locker room down 1-0, short of ideas in attack and exposed every time Jamaica broke forward at speed.

Márquez’s official debut in a tournament as Mexico head coach was starting to go badly wrong.

The second half began even worse. Barely a minute after the restart, in the 46th, Renaldo Cephas pounced on a ball the Mexican defense failed to clear and beat goalkeeper Raúl “El Tala” Rangel to make it 2-0.

The nightmare continued in the 63rd when Richard King converted a penalty for 3-0. The spot kick was awarded after a video review of a Gallardo challenge inside the area, and King struck it with power to leave Mexico reeling.

Late fightback keeps the tie alive

With the game threatening to become a rout, Mexico woke up. In the 70th, Gilberto Mora pulled one back with a low right-footed shot from outside the area that restored some hope and changed the mood of the team for the closing stretch.

Eleven minutes later, Julián Quiñones converted from the penalty spot to make it 3-2. Mexico pushed for an equalizer in the closing minutes but ran out of time to complete the comeback.

The result extends Mexico’s winless run to five matches under Márquez, who has yet to record a victory since taking charge of the national team.

The second leg is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 8:30 p.m. Central time at the Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, where Mexico must win to reach the Nations League semifinals and avoid exiting in the quarterfinals.