Mexico coach sets sights on America Cup, Gold Cup

Mexico national football team coach Miguel Herrera has said he is looking past the 2014 Brazil World Cup to the 2015 America Cup and the Gold Cup.

In an interview aired on Mexican TV channel Televisa, Herrera said he wanted to stay on with the team and prepare them for those upcoming championships, but Mexico's assembly of football clubs had yet to announce its decision on whether to extend his coaching contract, reports Xinhua.

Under Herrera, the team played six official games and eight friendlies, winning eight, tying three and losing three, most recently a Brazil World Cup Round of 16 match against the Netherlands, that Mexico lost 1-2.

Mexico's team has the capacity to win any championship, said Herrera, listing the Copa America (America Cup) in Chile in June of 2015, and the Gold Cup.

Asked about Mexico's performance at the Brazil World Cup, where the team was eliminated in the Round of 16 after losing to the Netherlands in a tough match, Herrera again congratulated the players for their tireless determination to win, saying it inspired football fans around the country.

Of Mexico's four Brazil World Cup games, the best was against Croatia, said Herrera, noting 18 of Croatia's 22 players are signed on with the world's top leagues, and still Mexico's lineup "blew them off the field".

While the referee called two penalties in favour of Mexico, he said, the team scored a total of three rapid-fire goals, thanks to Rafa Marquez, Andres Guardado and "Chicharito" Hernandez.

In its match against football legend Brazil, Mexico stood its ground and defended well, he said.

Of Mexico's game against the Netherlands, which the team dominated 1-0 until the final five minutes, Herrera denied he instructed his players to "hang back", saying he told them during the cooling break to press forward and confront the rivals.

"Something passed through everyone's minds with the 1-0, trying to protect it, and they thought that in a short space of time there would be fewer opportunities to score. It was a distraction," he explained.

Mexico's national team placed at No.10 at the 2014 Brazil World Cup, a big improvement over its 14th-place finish at the 2010 South Africa World Cup.