Guillermo Ochoa had to be on point. Luckily for Mexico, he was.
The veteran netminder produced a man of the match performance in salvaging a scoreless draw against Nigeria in front of 68,212 fans at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Wednesday night.
Nigeria looked faster, stronger and more up for the fight, carrying the run of play fairly easily in a one-sided first 45 and exploiting a lack of pace on the Mexican backline. Only a series of spectacular saves from Ochoa kept El Tri, who were able to produce a more even second half, in the contest.
Former Red Bull and current Mexico captain Rafa Márquez, who had several early giveaways that could have proved costly had Ochoa not been up to the task, praised Nigeria's efforts after the match.
"We faced a fast, strong team that technically are very good," Márquez said in the mixed zone.
Mexico are next in action on April 2, when they travel to Phoenix to face the USMNT.
