Giovani dos Santos might be in preseason form, but that still did not stop him from making an impact for Mexico on Wednesday.
Mexico defeated Iceland, 1-0, in an international friendly in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Wednesday night, and it was dos Santos that helped make the difference at Sam Boyd Stadium. The LA Galaxy star dished out the game-winning assist in the 21st minute, delivering a pinpoint free kick from the left that Alan Pulido nodded home with authority.
While the helper was impressive because of its delivery, it was the totality of dos Santos' performance that really seemed to stick out to Mexico head coach Juan Carlos Osorio. The 27-year-old dos Santos was deployed out wide during his 45-minute spell on the field, and his ability to lead El Tri's attack drew positive reviews from Osorio.
"With Giovani in the first half and the last 25 minutes with Luis Montes, both of them left-footed, what we tried to do is play them on the right side," Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio told reporters after the match. "Every time they controlled the ball with the inside of their foot, it takes them to the inside position, and that allowed us to play the wingbacks in behind them and have more width. So I think it was very productive because we many, many times penetrated them on the flanks and produced wonderful crosses."
There are questions as to where dos Santos best fits in Mexico's starting lineup, but his outing vs. Iceland surely helped his cause to get the nod when El Tri resume the final phase of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying next month. The Mexicans, who are currently in second place in the Hexagonal, are scheduled to host Costa Rica and visit Trinidad & Tobago on March 24 and 28, respectively.
