Mexico vs Peru score, result: Hirving Chucky Lozano rescues a poor El Tri with late goal

Simon Borg

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Mexico vs Peru score, result: Hirving Chucky Lozano rescues a poor El Tri with late goal image

It was Chucky to the rescue. In a game that seemed destined to finish in a scoreless draw, Mexican star Hirving 'Chucky' Lozano scored with five minutes remaining to give Mexico a much-needed victory over Peru in a World Cup tuneup match.

The match played in front of more than 62,000 fans at the Rose Bowl was insipid. Not only were Mexico unable to score for 85 minutes, but they barely created any meaningful chances, only threatening on set pieces. 

Then on a late corner kick delivered by Andres Guardado, the ball bounced out to Lozano at the far post, and he touched it into the roof of the net to relieve the team and manager Gerardo 'Tata' Martino of the pressure that has been mounting on them in recent weeks and months.

The goal was the only shot on target generated by Mexico in the match, and it interrupted a stretch of three straight friendly shutouts against Uruguay, Ecuador, and Paraguay. 

Peru, who missed out on the World Cup after losing a playoff to Australia on penalty kicks, defended comfortably and then took more risks in the second half, but they couldn't trouble Mexico 'keeper Memo Ochoa. However, they seemed like the more likely to score given Mexico's stunted attack. It was Peru's first match under new manager Juan Reynoso.

Mexico next look ahead to a match against another South American power Colombia on Tuesday in Santa Clara, Calif. Peru take on El Salvador at Audi Field in Washington D.C.

MORE: All about Mexico's Group C opponents at the World Cup

Mexico still have issues in attack

Against Peru the issue wasn't scoring goals. It was creating chances. 

Chucky Lozano and Piojo Alvarado didn't have much success at beating players 1-v-1 out on the wings, and the starting midfielders — Charly Gonzalez, Edson Alvarez, and Luis Chavez — couldn't really help spark any meaningful attacking maneuvers, barely contributing runs into the attack. Peru also deserve credit for stunting Mexico's attack.

That meant center forward Henry Martin was starved for service and didn't get a ball in the box that he could handle outside of a first-half corner kick header. His replacement Santi Gimenez had a similar experience.

Mexico weren't dynamic, creative, or dangerous. Instead, they were slow and uninspired. It was telling that the game-winning corner kick came from a play that Uriel Antuna created with a cross from the right.

Who played well for Mexico?

No one stood out for El Tri, and that's the truth. Chucky Lozano will get the headlines for the goal, but he was also the only Mexican player who had some positive touches and tried things on the ball.

Among the subs, Uriel Antuna deserves credit for forcing the issue with a quick dribbling move and cross which subsequently led to the goal.

The two Mexico full-backs on the left and right — Kevin Alvarez (right) and Jesus Gallardo (left) — didn't do enough to push into the attack and offer alternatives. And central midfielder Edson Alvarez often dropped between the center-backs to help in the buildup. Outside of a shot from distance that drifted high of the bar, Edson wasn't very involved higher up the field.

Who's going to Qatar?

It's safe to assume that Alexis Vega and Diego Lainez will see time against Colombia on Tuesday after not featuring at all against Peru. They should make the World Cup squad with Lainez serving as aspark off the bench, and Vega playing the Tecatito Corona winger role.

Tata Martino mentioned he's taking just three of the four center forwards at his disposal (Javier Hernandez and Carlos Vela are not under consideration): If the injury to Rogelio Funes Mori continues to keep him out long-term (he hasn't played since August), we could be looking at Raul Jimenez, Santi Gimenez, and Henry Martin in Qatar.

And despite not showing particularly well against Peru, it feels like right-back Kevin Alvarez and left-back Jesus Gallardo will probably still be there, competing with Jorge Sanchez (right) and Gerardo Arteaga (left). The projected 26-man roster follows below:

Goalkeepers (3): Rodolfo Cota, Guillermo Memo Ochoa, Alfredo Talavera

Defenders (8): Kevin Alvarez, Jesus Angulo, Gerardo Arteaga, Nestor Araujo, Jesus Gallardo, Cesar Montes, Hector Moreno, Jorge Sanchez

Midfielders (8): Edson Alvarez, Luis Chavez, Andres Guardado, Erick Gutierrez, Hector Herrera, Orbelin Pineda, Carlos Charly Rodriguez, Luis Romo

Forwards (7): Uriel Antuna, Santi Gimenez, Raul Jimenez, Diego Lainez, Hirving Chucky Lozano, Henry Martin, Alexis Vega

On the bubble: Carlos Acevedo (GK), Erick Aguirre, Roberto 'Piojo' Alvarado, Julian Araujo, Fernando 'Nene' Beltran, Sebastian Cordova, Jesus Manuel 'Tecatito' Corona, Julio Cesar 'Cata' Dominguez, Erik Lira, Rogelio Funes Mori, Jonathan Orozco (GK), Rodolfo Pizarro, Luis Reyes, Osvaldo Rodriguez, Johan Vasquez

Mexico vs Peru final score

  1H 2H Final
Mexico 0 1 1
Peru 0 0 0

Goals:
MEX — Hirving Chucky Lozano — 85th min.

Mexico vs Peru live updates, highlights from World Cup friendly

Final: Mexico 1, Peru 0

87th min.: SUBS Peru. After Sergio Pena gets a yellow card for a foul on the goal scorer, Christofer Gonzales (for Edison Flores) and Alex Valera (for Pedro Aquino) are in.

85th min.: Goal Mexico! A corner kick by Andres Guardado, pops up to Chucky Lozano at the far post and he touches it into the roof of the net. Mexico needed that in the worst way.

83rd min.: SUB Mexico. Orbelin Pineda replaces Charly Rodriguez.

76th min.: SUBS Peru. Sergio Pena (for Christian Cueva) and Yordy Reyna (for Andre Carrillo) are in the game.

70th min.: SUB Peru. It's a change at forward with Raul Ruidiaz replacing Gianluca Lapadula, who gets a hug from new coach Juan Reynoso.

69th min.: Peru chance! It's Gianluca Lapadula who volleys towards goal and comes close. That came a couple of minutes after Christian Cueva had a crack from inside the box but he didn't hit the frame.

67th min.: SUB Mexico. Andres Guardado replaces Luis Chavez in midfield. He's now even on 178 appearances with all-time leader Claudio Suarez 'El Emperador'.

62nd min.: SUBS Mexico. Santi Gimenez on for Henry Martin at center forward, and Uriel Antuna replaces Piojo Alvarado, who didn't cover himself in glory.

62nd min.: Yellow card to Peru's Carlos Zambrano for sticking a leg into Chucky Lozano. And Chucky immediately was wagging his finger at Zambrano: "Asi, no!" Asi, no!" (Not like that!)

56th min.: How about a goal highlight from another game? Chicharito scores in a match happening simultaneously: San Jose Earthquakes vs. LA Galaxy.

52nd min.: Chance Mexico! Edson Alvarez with a rising shot from distance that just missed the crossbar. El Machin taking the initiative into his own hands to make things happen.

46th min.: SUB Peru. Carlos Zambrano takes over at center-back for Anderson Santamaria. And the second half is finally underway. Mexico took a while coming out to the field. Peru were waiting for a few minutes.

Halftime: Mexico 0, Peru 0

Halftime: It's here we go again from Mexico. Everyone knows that El Tri has issues scoring goals, but today the problem has been a lack of chances. Period.

Chucky Lozano isn't getting the ball in dangerous places. Piojo Alvarado has been busy, but not impactful. Henry Martin is waiting for any service. In midfield only Luis Chavez has tried to join the attack, but Peru have numbers behind the ball.

What changes could Tata Martino make in the second half? If Alexis Vega and Uriel Antuna are healthy enough, they could help change the look of this game with their unpredictable play.

40th min.: This first half has 0-0 written all over it. Mexico have the ball, but can't create much at all. That's been their big problem in recent months.

Peru are organized and have not been troubled. If new manager Juan Reynoso takes some more risks in the second half, it feels like they could cause issues for El Tri. They're opting not to push hard for a goal so far.

30th min.: Peru chance! Renato Tapia whips in a cross from the left side and Andre Carrillo connects with a header that only misses the left post by about a foot.

26th min.: A look at the players who are not part of the matchday squad due to injury. They could be helping contribute to the action in this game. There's been very little.

20th min.: Mexico corner. El Tri are most dangerous on set pieces and on one corner Henry Martin gets a header off, but it's nowhere close to the mark.

13th min.: It's been mainly Mexico in possession, but Peru is not bothered by it and they're waiting for their moment. It's hard to see how Mexico are going to create chances.

Chucky Lozano is not particularly energetic to start. Right-back Luis Advincula is all over him.

8th min.: Free kick for Mexico. Luis Chavez delivers it with his cultured left foot, but the Cesar Montes header at the near post is way off target.

4th min.: What's notable early on is that Edson Alvarez is dropping back between the Mexico center-backs to help in buildup play out of the back.

1st min.: We're underway. Mexico kick off. El Tri are finally back in green. Peru are in red with the white sash.

5 mins from kickoff: Teams are out on the field ahead of the national anthems. Peru are up first.

60 mins from kickoff: The reported lineups in the lead-up were confirmed. No surprises from either side:

90 mins from kickoff: El Tri fans are warming up well in advance of kickoff:

120 mins from kickoff: Whether or not Tata Martino really skipped the open training session prior to the Mexico-Peru match to avoid "Fuera Tata" (Tata Out) chants, the fact that the news got out means he'll definitely be hearing it during the match at the Rose Bowl.

Mexico vs Peru lineups

Players like right-back Kevin Alvarez, winger Roberto 'Piojo' Alvarado, and forwards Henry Martin and Santi Gimenez are among the players hoping to impress enough to lock up their ticket to Qatar.

A host of players are expected to be sidelined due to various knocks (Hector Herrera, Jorge Sanchez, Rogelio Funes Mori and Raul Jimenez have been named), and Luis Romo also joined them. 'Tecatito' Corona is not with the group out with a long-term injury (fractured fibula).

Mexico starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 13-Guillermo 'Memo' Ochoa (GK) — 30-Kevin Alvarez, 3-Cesar Montes, 15-Hector Moreno, 23-Jesus Gallardo — 8-'Charly' Rodriguez, 4-Edson 'Machin' Alvarez, 17-Luis Chavez — 25-Roberto 'Piojo' Alvarado, 20-Henry Martin, 22-Hirving 'Chucky' Lozano

Mexico subs (15): 1-Alfredo Talavera (GK), 12-Rodolfo Cota (GK), 2-Nestor Araujo, 6-Gerardo Arteaga, 27-Jesus Angulo, 5-Johan Vasquez, 26-Fernando 'Nene' Beltran, 14-Erick Gutierrez, 28-Erick Sanchez, 18-Andres Guardado, 21-Diego Lainez, 31-Orbelin Pineda, 10-Alexis Vega, 24-Uriel Antuna, 29-Santiago Gimenez

The first lineup for new manager Juan Reynoso features what looks like a 4-2-3-1 with forward Gianluca Lapadula leading the line. Luis Advincula wins out over Aldo Corzo at right-back. Peru regulars Yoshimar Yotun and Andy Polo are not on the team due to injury and Piero Quispe didn't make the cut for the matchday squad.

Peru starting lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1-Pedro Gallese (GK) — 17-Luis 'El Rayo' Advincula, 4-Anderson Santamaria, 22-Alexander Callens, 6-Marcos Lopez — 13-Renato Tapia, 23-Pedro Aquino — 18-Andre Carrillo, 10-Christian Cueva, 20-Edison Flores — 9-Gianluca Lapadula

Peru subs (14): 21-Jose Carvallo (GK), 12-Alejandro Duarte (GK), 5-Carlos Zambrano, 3-Aldo Corzo, 2-Luis Abram, 15-Miguel Araujo, 7-Nelson Loyola, 14-Wilder Cartagena, 8-Sergio Pena, 16-Christofer Gonzalez, 11-Santiago Ormeno, 26-Yordy Reyna, 24-Alex Valera, 30-Raul Ruidiaz

MORE: The Mexican cities that will be hosting the 2026 World Cup

Mexico vs Peru TV channel, live stream

  Date Time TV Channel Streaming
Mexico Sat, Sept. 24 20:00 CDT TV Azteca 7, Canal 5, TUDN ViX, Azteca Deportes
Peru Sat, Sept. 24 20:00 PST Movistar Deportes, Latina Television Movistar Play
USA Sat, Sept. 24 21:00 ET Univision, TUDN fuboTV, TUDN site/app

The match from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California will be broadcast in the USA on Univision and simulcast on TUDN, with both channels available to stream on fuboTV.

The head referee will be Bryan Lopez from Guatemala, and he'll team up with twin U.S. assistant referees Ian and Frank Anderson, as well as fourth official Walter Lopez, also of Guatemala. There will be no VAR for the match.

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.