MEXICO MISS OUT

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Mexico were knocked out of the Confederations cup despite managing a victory over Japan in the final group match between the two teams. Mexico manager Jose Manuel de la Torre came under intense pressure after his team suffered an embarrassing defeat in the first two matches of the group stages.

This almost ended any hope of Mexico managing to progress into the knockout stages. It was confirmed despite the 2-1 win over Japan. Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez managed to score two goals as he set Mexico on their way to their first victory in the competition.

Despite this exit, de la Torre has said that he is happy with the progress made by his team over the course of the competition. He has said that defeating Japan should not be seen as a given because the Asian team ran Italy extremely close in the previous match. Japan were coming into the encounter on the back of a 4-3 defeat against Italy in which they almost grabbed a famous victory. Shinji Okazaki was the scorer for Japan on the night, and his goal turned out to be a mere consolation for the Asians.

Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni blamed tiredness for his side's inability to repeat the heroics of the match against Italy.

"The team did very well today, we put together some good moves and managed to score. That's what stood out for me, as well as my players' constant fighting spirit. I'm confident this team will continue developing. It's good to leave on a high note," said the Mexican manager. "Our game against Italy was exhausting, which is why we weren't as good today. The tournament has helped us to gain more international experience, which was something we were lacking, so overall we can look back positively on our time here," said Zaccheroni.