La Tri head coach Monica Vergara refuses to label Concacaf W Championship participation a failure

Mexico are set to face the US women’s national team on Monday in their final match of the Concacaf W Championship in Monterrey, Mexico.

But the hosts are in for a challenge, after losing to Jamaica and Haiti to fall bottom of the Group A standings. Despite consecutive losses, head coach Monica Vergara maintains their involvement in the tournament cannot be labeled a failure considering Mexico is “in development".

"I am still in the fight, the team is still competing, they will have the conclusions. We have one more game left and we are focused on showing that we’re learning from these last two games. That is a word that I am not going to use today is failure. I think that even if we have a 1% chance, I will always be stubborn because I know my team, my players and I know that we are going to go out to work, to fight, to compete and tomorrow, as always, they will have me here facing them,” she exclaimed. 

"Underestimating any rival has never crossed the minds of anyone who is here and who has worked this process. Since we knew the rivals, we knew that we were in a very strong group, we have had the opportunity to learn about the growth of both Jamaica and Haiti. I consider that we are a country still in development, it is something that I have repeated in this process, this is our reality and we are improving, we have taken very solid steps."

Mexico first established a team in 1963, but did not receive the official recognition from FIFA until 1991, prompting the slow journey towards investment in women’s football. The development of women's football in the country saw a recent jump when Liga MX Femenil was established in 2016. But even five years later, the program remains in development.

La Tri has since participated in three Women’s World Cups and one edition of the Summer Olympic Games, but continues to work towards becoming the best in the region.