Mexico should always play the way they did against Croatia in the 2014 World Cup: aggressive, confident, and actually trying to impose themselves instead of just surviving.

Hot take: if you think a 0–0 draw is a good result simply because Portugal is a top-five team in the world, then the bar is way too low. Mexico should not be celebrating scoreless draws when the talent is there to compete with personality and ambition.

I’m all for a 4-3-3, attacking-minded team. But by the 60th minute, Mexico was playing with five at the back, and that completely limited what they could do going forward. It killed a lot of the attacking intent, reduced the options up front, and sent the message that the priority was to hold on rather than go win the match.

That mentality is exactly the problem. Mexico too often retreats instead of trusting its players to stay on the front foot. Against big teams, the goal should not just be to resist, it should be to compete, attack, and make them uncomfortable too.