10 Years After "No Era Penal" with a Mexican National Team in Crisis
10 years ago, during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the Mexico and Netherlands national teams faced off in the Round of 16, where one of the most controversial events occurred with Arjen Robben and Rafael Márquez as protagonists, giving birth to the #NoEraPenal movement on social media; however, today, the teams live in two different realities, both in the Euro Cup and the Copa America.
The event that sparked the "No era Penal" movement occurred during the last minutes of the match when Arjen Robben entered the Mexico area and Rafa Márquez attempted to steal the ball; however, the Dutch attacker cleverly fell to prompt the central referee to award the penalty, which Klaas-Jan Huntelaar—then a forward for Schalke 04—ended up converting to make the final score 1-2 in the 94th minute.
That Netherlands team ended up in third place after defeating Brazil 0-3, while the Mexican team—considered by many as the best generation ever—returned home with a terrible sense of frustration, although they managed to bounce back and won the Gold Cup the following year by defeating Jamaica 3-1.
However, a decade later, both teams live in two opposite realities: the Oranje are in the round of 16 of the Euro Cup, where they will face Romania on July 2nd after finishing in third place in Group D with 4 points.
Despite finishing in third place, the Netherlands team has played good football and has positioned itself as one of the favorites to advance to the later stages of the Euro Cup.
On the other hand, Mexico has gone from being at its best to generating endless doubts. Today, El Tri is competing in the Copa America, where they will play for their spot in the next round against Ecuador after surprisingly losing to Venezuela.
The Mexican team, led by Jaime Lozano, has not had the best performances in their recent outings. Various fans have pointed out that it is because the coach does not deviate from the 4-3-3 formation, while others blame the generational change that has been taking place.
Undoubtedly, both teams live in moments opposite to 10 years ago, when they faced each other in Fortaleza and played a controversial but well-executed match.
