The second leg of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Intercontinental Play-off was always going to be a difficult one for the home side after going down 5-1 at the Estadio Azteca a week earlier.
A first-half hat-trick from Oribe Peralta put the tie out of the All Whites reach as the Mexican team showed just how lethal they can be on the counter-attack.
A thrilling run from Marco Rojas through the centre of the Mexico defence early in the match had the crowd on the edge of their seats, as they could see their side had no intention of giving the visitors an easy run.
Three goals down thanks to Peralta’s hat-trick the cheers rang around the Cake-tin in the 38th minute when referee Felix Brych pointed to the penalty spot after he deemed goalkeeper Moises Munoz to have taken down
All Whites striker Jeremy Brockie. The elation was short-lived as Munoz made up for the error by denying Brockie’s effort.
The All Whites stuck at their task in the second half and were rewarded, pulling two goals back in the second period as Chris James converted an 80th minute penalty before Rory Fallon tucked the ball home at the back post two minutes later giving the Kiwi side hope of getting level on the night.
But with Westpac Stadium echoing the chants of the home fans, Mexico responded by killing the comeback with a fourth goal in the 87th minute to Carlos Pena, confirming a 9-3 aggregate win for the Mexicans and passage to Brazil 2014.
All Whites coach Ricki Herbert acknowledged the class of the Mexicans, but highlighted a positive future for the New Zealand side.
“We have to play a massive tribute to the Mexican team,” Herbert said. “Enjoy Brazil, you’ve deserved it – you’ve been the better team across both ties.
“A very inexperienced team showed some wonderful potential and showed a great deal of appetite against a side where you can make very good comparisons. At the end of the day I thought we defended poorly. We allowed ourselves to get exposed athletically and pace-wise and decent balls in behind were going to expose us.
“The last 45 minutes were incredibly refreshing. I’ll walk away and be incredibly proud of it.”
For Chris James, who scored in both legs of the play-off, being able to offer the loyal fans something to cheer about was an immense and unique experience.
“I hit it pretty well. I sort of waited to see which way the goalkeeper was going and he kind of stood a little bit more still towards the end of my run so I thought ‘I’m going to have to this a bit harder because he hasn’t decided’,” James said.
“So I was glad for it to go in, it was a good feeling as well and to run over and just see that support – because that support tonight was amazing – I think I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
James also acknowledged a bright future is looming on the horizon for the national team – and it’s one he’s keen to be part of.
“I felt that I’ve done well enough to keep myself in the national set-up. That’s the plan and that was the idea – I want to be part of it for the future.
“I think from today, you can see the future of the New Zealand team, there’s good things coming. Players like Storm [Roux] and Bill [Tuiloma] were some of the best players in the game, I thought. So there’s a great future and I want to be part of that.”
The loss ended New Zealand’s hopes of successive World Cup qualification, and it also signals the end of Herbert’s career at the helm.

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