Mexico vs Colombia score, result: El Tri suffer crushing loss, see 2-0 lead turn into 3-2 loss

Simon Borg

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Mexico vs Colombia score, result: El Tri suffer crushing loss, see 2-0 lead turn into 3-2 loss image

So much for building momentum ahead of the World Cup. Mexico not only lost against Colombia in its final match before departing for the World Cup in November, but it saw its 2-0 lead evaporate in a 3-2 loss at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.

Mexico played its best half in recent memory, staking itself to a 2-0 halftime lead thanks to an early penalty converted by Alexis Vega, and a goal by left-back Gerardo Arteaga. But the wheels came off in the second half.

Colombia made three subs to start the half and promptly scored three unanswered goals in the second half, including two by Leeds United's Luis Sinisterra and a stunning volley by midfielder Wilmer Barrios.

It was an avalanche of Colombian attacks in the second half and Mexico had no answer. El Tri manager Gerardo 'Tata' Martino tried to make some personnel changes to stem the tide, but it didn't work and Mexico will have to head to the World Cup in November with a bad taste in their mouth.

Mexico will have two warmup matches on its way to Qatar in November: Iraq on Nov. 9 and Sweden on Nov. 16, with both matches taking place in Girona, Spain. Mexico then plays its first Group C match against Poland on Nov. 22.

Mexico vs Colombia final score

  1H 2H Final
Mexico 2 0 2
Colombia 0 3 3

Goals:
MEX — Alexis Vega (penalty) — 6th min.
MEX — Gerardo Arteaga (Erick Gutierrez) — 29th min.
COL — Luis Sinisterra (Juan Cuadrado) — 49th min.
COL — Luis Sinisterra (Jorge Carrascal) — 52nd min.
COL — Wilmer Barrios (Rafael Santos Borre) — 68th min.

Mexico vs Colombia live updates, highlights from friendly

Final: Mexico 2, Colombia 3

92nd min.: Chance Mexico. Alexis Vega with a blast from distance that barely misses the left post. The equalizer by Mexico was close.

91st min.: SUBS Colombia. Jhon Duran in for Luis Diaz and a few minutes earlier Jefferson Lerma came in for Wilmer Barrios.

82nd min.: Stoppage in play. The referee stops play because the homophobic chant is heard on a goal kick by Colombian's 'keeper. It's part of the protocol referees have to deal with these situations.

77th min.: SUBS Mexico. Diego Lainez (Uriel Antuna) and Orbelin Pineda (for Erick Gutierrez) are into the match.

73rd min.: SUB Colombia. Jhon Lucumi replaces right-back Stefan Medina. Colombia are in a 4-4-2:  

Colombia starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 1-David Ospina (GK) — 4-Carlos Cuesta, 23-Davinson Sanchez, 3-Jhon Lucumi, 18-Frank Fabra — 14-Luis Sinisterra, 11-Juan Cuadrado, 5-Wilmar Barrios, 7-Luis Diaz — 13-Jorge Carrascal, 19-Rafael Santos Borre

72nd min.: Yellow card to the goal scorer Wilmer Barrios, who just hauls down Uriel Antuna with both hands. It stopped an attack, and deserved a yellow.

68th min.: What a goal by Colombia! Wilmer Barrios with the amazing volley from outside the box. He took a floated ball from teammate Rafael Santos Borre and sent it into the right side netting. Just beautiful.

Colombia have flipped the result. What a disaster for Mexico.

61st min.: SUBS Mexico. Cesar Montes (for Kevin Alvarez), Erick Sanchez (for Charly Rodriguez), Santi Gimenez (for Henry Martin), and Luis Chavez (for Andres Guardado).

Nestor Araujo is the new Mexico right-back which is not a good sign for Kevin Alvarez that the manager is happy to put a central defender in there to replace you.

57th min.: Yellow card to Colombia's Jorge Carrascal for charging behind Erick Gutierrez and stopping an attack. Subs are coming for Mexico, who will counter the moves made by Colombia at the half.

52nd min.: Goal Colombia! And just like that Sinisterra equalizes with his second goal! Jorge Carrascal makes a run down the right side of the box and cuts a ball back which Luis Sinisterra hits past Ochoa. The Colombia subs have changed the game.

49th min.: Goal Colombia! On a Juan Cuadrado corner kick it's Leeds United's Luis Sinisterra with a header that beats Mexico 'keeper Memo Ochoa.

46th min.: SUBS Colombia. Luis Sinisterra (for James Rodriguez), Rafael Santos Borre (for Radamel Falcao), and Jorge Carrascal (for Steven Alzate) are in.

Halftime: Mexico 2, Colombia 0

Halftime: What a half by Mexico. They were aggressive from the start, and they showed quickness, ideas, and desire. The early goal courtesy of the penalty gifted by Luis Diaz, clearly helped settle the nerves and inject some confidence.

Where did this come from? The changes helped. Uriel Antuna brings acceleration, Alexis Vega is the most creative player on the team, and Erick Gutierrez's vision and quality brought a lift to the midfield. Not to mention the work put in by right-back Kevin Alvarez (on Liverpool's Luis Diaz) and left-back Gerardo Arteaga (against Juan Cuadrado), with Arteaga making a key run for the second goal.

Unlike the Peru game, this has been a more open match and it has suited Mexico thus far. El Tri hasn't had the bulk of possession (62-38 for Colombia) and they're frankly more comfortable without the ball, operating on quick transitions. 

45th min.: Three minutes of stoppage time.

44th min.: Mexico chance! Colombia defender Carlos Cuesta falls asleep and has the ball stripped from him. It falls to Alexis Vega in the box, but he can't coordinate his body to knock it past Ospina, who hangs on.

41st min.: Yellow card to Mexico's Hector Moreno for blocking Colombia 'keeper David Ospina from punting the ball upfield.

29th min.: Goal Mexico! It's a stunning move. The pass goes into Alexis Vega, who lets it run past him and it hits left-back Gerardo Arteaga in stride and he buries it. Pretty goal. Mexico up 2-0.

27th min.: Colombia are now taking the game to Mexico and El Tri can break out in transition. In one of those instances it looked like Davinson Sanchez pushed Uriel Antuna to the ground. No whistle (or card) from the referee.

16th min.: Injury stoppage. Center-back Nestor Araujo dives in to block a Luis Diaz shot, but the Colombian follows through into Araujo's ankle and he's hurt. He needs treatment and comes off the field. No cards for Diaz.

14th min.: Mexico chance! Henry Martin wins the ball outside the box and goes right at goal, but his effort is blocked. El Tri are up for this game.

6th min.: Goal Mexico! Alexis Vega steps up to convert with a powerful right-footed shot. Great, aggressive start for El Tri.

4th min.: Penalty for Mexico! Luis Diaz was trying to dribble out of his own box and Uriel Antuna stepped in front of the ball. The Liverpool man just shoved him from behind and it's a clear penalty. Don't know what Diaz was thinking there.

1st min.: We're off. Mexico are in green again, and Colombia are wearing red.

5 mins from kickoff: National anthem time.

60 mins from kickoff: It's been a while since we've had a Mexico vs. Colombia. It should be a good game. These are two teams that want to play.

Mexico vs Colombia lineups

Henry Martin gets another start at forward, but Alexis Vega and Uriel Antuna get to show what they can do from the start. Nestor Araujo gets an opportunity at center-back in lieu of Cesar Montes, while Erick Gutierrez fills in for Edson Alvarez in central midfield. Not on the team are the injured Rogelio Funes Mori, Luis Romo, Jorge Sanchez, Raul Jimenez and Hector Herrera.

Mexico starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 13-Memo Ochoa (GK) — 30-Kevin Alvarez, 2-Nestor Araujo, 15-Hector Moreno, 6-Gerardo Arteaga — 18- Andres Guardado, 14-Erick Gutierrez, 8-Carlos 'Charly' Rodriguez — 10-Alexis Vega, 20-Henry Martin, 24-Uriel Antuna

Mexico subs (15): 1-Talavera (GK), 12-Cota (GK), 23-Jesus Gallardo, 27-Jesus Angulo, 5-Johan Vasquez, 3-Cesar Montes, 26-Fernando Beltran, 4-Edson Alvarez, 17-Luis Chavez, 21-Diego Lainez, 25-Roberto 'Piojo' Alvarado, 31-Orbelin Pineda, 28-Erick Sanchez, 29-Santi Gimenez, 22-Hirving 'Chucky' Lozano

James Rodriguez, Juan Cuadrado, and Radamel Falcao are back to lead the attack, and Luis Diaz does not get a break as had been rumored. Mateus Uribe was said to be unavailable due to injury, but he's on the bench. 

Colombia starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 1-David Ospina (GK) — 2-Stefan Medina, 4-Carlos Cuesta, 23-Davinson Sanchez, 18-Frank Fabra — 6-Steven Alzate, 5-Wilmar Barrios — 11-Juan Cuadrado, 10-James Rodriguez, 7-Luis Diaz — 9-Radamel Falcao

Colombia subs (12): 12-Camilo Vargas, 22-Alvaro Montero, 17-Johan Mojica, 21-Daniel Munoz, 26-Andres Llinas, 3-Jhon Lucumi, 20-Yaser Asprilla, 13-Jorge Carrascal, 16-Jefferson Lerma, 14-Luis Sinisterra, 15-Mateus Uribe, 8-Yairo Moreno, 24-Oscar Estupinan, 25-Jhon Duran, 19-Rafael Santos Borre

Mexico vs. Colombia TV channel, live stream

  USA Mexico Colombia
Date Tues, Sept. 27 Tues, Sept. 27 Tues, Sept. 27
Time 22:00 ET 21:00 CDT 21:00 COT
TV channel Univision, TUDN Canal 5, Azteca 7, TUDN Caracol TV
Streaming fuboTV, TUDN site/app, Univision Now ViX+ Caracol Play

USA: The match from Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara will air on Univision and TUDN, with both channels streamed on fuboTV.

Mexico: The match will be available across a variety of channels and their respective streaming platforms, including ViX+.

Colombia: It's a Caracol match in Colombia both on TV and streaming fronts.

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.