Herrera: Mexico failed at Copa America

Mexico coach Miguel Herrera considers his team’s group-stage exit at the Copa America a “failure” after a 2-1 loss to Ecuador marked the end of their tournament.

Although Mexico’s stars are playing at the Gold Cup, the CONCACAF guests still came into the tournament in Chile hoping to reach the semi-finals.

Instead, they will be on an early flight back to Mexico after their loss to Ecuador.

“You have to accept failure,” Herrera told a news conference.

“We didn’t understand the magnitude of how we played. We lacked energy and didn’t get stuck in. They didn’t do things well and it’s a failure.”

While Herrera said it was his job to prepare the team, he also felt his men lacked understanding and readiness for the South American showpiece.

Mexico drew with Bolivia (0-0) and Chile (3-3) before the loss to Ecuador, who went 2-0 up through Miller Bolanos and Enner Valencia.

“We didn’t understand when we came into this tournament and we were late in getting started,” Herrera said.

“We played a match where we understood [how to play] and the rest were just sparks. Today we have chances we didn’t take advantage of.

“Without putting forth effort, it’s tough to advance. We didn’t understand how and in what way to play in this tournament.”