2018 Futbolito Bimbo Tournament: Leonardo Cuéllar Talks About the Mexican National Team's Current Moment

In the presentation of the 2018 Futbolito Bimbo tournament, the coach of the America Femenil team, Leonardo Cuéllar, spoke about the current moment of the Mexican National Team that will participate in the World Cup in Russia. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Mexico's performance in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. Cuéllar affirmed that what his team experienced four decades ago is something very unlikely to happen again, although not impossible. He made a comparison between both teams, highlighting the experience that the current Juan Carlos Osorio team has in their favor.

"It's difficult. I hope it doesn't happen again, honestly, but in soccer anything can happen. I believe that nowadays professor Osorio has a well-established generation, with World Cup experience, very mature, and I think he has learned from everything that has happened to him. They have to keep in mind that for many of them, it's their last chance and they have to take advantage of it. Our team had a lot of youth, for example, Víctor Rangel and Hugo were between 19 and 21 years old. They had experience playing in the pre-World Cup and other friendly matches, but not a World Cup. And that's the difference between that team and the current one," said Cuéllar for La Afición.

He also highlighted the mentality and level that the Mexican team possesses today, which is something that can take them far, since there is a better mental and football balance to avoid the result of 40 years ago. Cuéllar concluded that he liked the group and that the crucial match will be against South Korea.

"I think something very important that this team has, in addition to experience, is mentality and a good level. Like I said before, our team had Hugo, 'Alacrán' Jiménez, Cristóbal Ortega, 'Cora' Isiordia, 'Nacho' Flores, Pilar Reyes, me, and others. It's true, we had a lot of talent but also a lot of inexperience. Just to mention that at that time, we faced the Champion and the Third place of the World in our group. The group doesn't scare me, I believe the players have to release pressure and understand that the key match is against South Korea," said Cuéllar.

They Can Still Improve

On the other hand, Cuéllar referred to the 2-3 victory that his team achieved against Pachuca in the second matchday of the Clausura 2018 of the Liga MX Femenil. He affirmed that he was satisfied with the team's performance, as the victory was obtained on a difficult pitch. However, he expects the team to become more solid as the weeks go by, overcoming the defeat they suffered in the first match against Toluca.

"We can improve. Obviously, the result was the best, we got the victory. I believe that the work and the things we have done so far, I've seen them. Even though we lost against Toluca in the first match, I think the team is finding its rhythm," he said.

Currently, América is in ninth place overall and fifth place in Group 1 of the Liga Femenil MX, with three points.