Raul finish gives Spain narrow win over Mexico
Raul tapped in his 23rd international goal to give Spain a 1-0 victory over Mexico in a poor quality friendly international on Wednesday.
Raul tapped in his 23rd international goal to give Spain a 1-0 victory over Mexico in a poor quality friendly international on Wednesday.
The two World Cup finalists struggled to control the ball on a pitch that cut up badly and they failed to muster a worthwhile chance between them in the first 45 minutes.
The pace livened after the break as the Central Americans pushed forward with greater purpose and Spain looked to exploit the extra space on offer.
There were still few clear chances for either side, though, before Raul's goal arrived from a set-piece with 17 minutes to go.
Sergio swung over a corner from the left and Fernando Hierro's flick-header fell to the unmarked Real Madrid forward to touch in at the far post.
The poor condition of the pitch led to countless mistakes from both sides and made for a disappointing spectacle all round.
On the quarter-hour, Diego Tristan picked up a loose ball 10 metres outside the area but his attempted pass to Raul was overhit.
Tristan should have done better with a Pedro Munitis cross on 20 minutes, the Deportivo Coruna forward losing control with his first touch.
That was about it as far as first-half entertainment went, although the recalled Pep Guardiola showed some neat touches as he looked to set his former Barcelona team mate Carles Puyol free down the right.
Mexico came desperately close to opening the scoring five minutes into the second half as Luis Alves Zague raced through on the left of the penalty area and beat Iker Casillas only to see his cross-shot bundled clear.
Raul's goal-bound header was tipped over by Oscar Perez as Spain launched their first worthwhile attack of the second half a couple of minutes later.
Mexico were still looking dangerous on the break and it took a fine covering header from Hierro to cut out Jesus Arellano's cross just past the hour.
Spain just about deserved the lead Raul's instinctive finish gave them but they rarely looked like adding to it, with a raft of second-half substitutions from both sides doing nothing to improve the quality of the match.