Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio was pleased with the way his side responded in the second half, as they overcame a one-goal deficit to defeat New Zealand 2-1 in Sochi on Wednesday evening.

“There’s no team in the world of football that doesn’t have to suffer at some point or other,” he said. “After the half-time team talk, we came out in the second half and played a faster game with our wide men.

"We also switched to a lone striker, with the other forward – Oribe Peralta – at the tip of the diamond. Hector Herrera had a big impact on the game when he came on. He created passing angles and he helped us a lot, just as he did against Portugal. That was one of the key factors and I think we totally outclassed our opponents in the second half.”

As for New Zealand coach Anthony Hudson, his eyes were awash with emotion after the match. “I’m very proud of my team,” he said. “It was an amazing performance by all the players, including the ones who came off the bench. I’m very disappointed with the result, though. I think we made a fantastic start to the game and there was no question that we were the stronger side in the first half.”

Hudson went on to explain why Mexico were able to turn the game around: “In the first 15 or 20 minutes , we let them have too much of the ball and gave them too much space. The next step we need to take is to turn these great performances into good results.”

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