Mexico, co-host of the World Cup, warmed up with a sloppy 1-0 friendly win over Australia in front of almost 80,000 spectators The Tri fans Saturday at the Rose Bowl outside Los Angeles.
Defender Johan Vasquez scored the only goal of the encounter, deftly heading in a header from Alexis Vega’s corner midway through the first half.
Mexico dominated possession but Australia, playing largely on the counter and generally solid in defence, missed several good opportunities to silence the partisan crowd.
The match took place at the historic site that hosted the last World Cup final in the United States in 1994, although the Rose Bowl will not take place this summer.
The vast majority of supporters were dressed in green for Mexico, which will co-host the 2026 edition with the US and Canada, with only a smattering of Australian yellow around the cavernous stands.
While Mexico dominated possession from the kick-off, the first decent chance fell to Australian Jackson Irvine, who collected a loose ball from a free-kick cross and sent it just wide.
But The Tri started making their check count. The dangerous Luis Chavez made a diagonal cross to Vega, whose glancing header was instinctively tipped over the crossbar by Mathew Ryan.
Moments later, Mexico scored. The opener came from Vega’s outswing corner, deftly headed by Vasquez and bounced in off the inside post, out of the reach of an outstretched Ryan.
It was poor set-piece defending from Australia, who enjoyed a significant height advantage, including the presence of 6-foot-4 defender Harry Souttar.
The Socceroos had a golden opportunity to level the match just before half-time.
Mexican goalkeeper Raul Rangel rushed off his line to claim a long ball, but defender Mateo Chavez Garcia ignored the call and headed the ball straight into the path of Australian Mohamed Toure.
The 22-year-old Norwich City striker – born in a refugee camp in Guinea to Liberian parents before emigrating to Australia as a child – had an open goal but somehow sent his lobbed effort wide to the left.
Australia started the second half much more proactively. Aiden O’Neill had well saved a powerful long-range effort.
Both sides started making multiple substitutions. Mexico signed 40-year-old goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who is preparing for his sixth World Cup – a record he will likely share with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Australian substitutes Paul Okon-Engstler and Ajdin Hrustic combined to create a chance, but Hrustic’s shot from just inside the penalty area was well blocked.
Although Australia had more control in the second half, Mexico thought they had a second goal with fifteen minutes to go, Jesus Gallardo’s shot was accidentally sent in by Hrustic.
But the referee was still spraying the foam line for the Australian defenders to get behind and ruled out the attempt, angering the Mexican players and rowdy fans.
Mexico will play one more preparatory match against Serbia at home on Thursday before opening the World Cup against South Africa in Mexico City on June 11.
Mexico’s Group A also includes South Korea and the Czech Republic, while Australia are drawn with co-hosts the US, as well as Paraguay and Turkey.
Published on May 31, 2026
