Mexico and Spain play to 1-1 draw at Azteca

A huge crowd of over 100,000 turned out at a rainy Azteca in Mexico City to watch the newly crowned World Cup champions Spain play Mexico last night.  Not many dare to come to Azteca to play Mexico unless they have to, but this game was special and was scheduled to celebrate the 200 years of Mexico independence as a nation.

With the opening of the season in Europe coming fast, both sides played it safe with few hard tackles.  "This was a party more than a game," Mexican captain Rafael Marquez said.

Mexico's young star Javier Hernandez put the home side ahead in the 12th minute and sent the home crowd into a frenzy. The match was without much contact, allowing both teams to have long spells of possession without many scoring threats. Rain fell in the second half, slowing the match and probably adding to the caution.

The game looked to be in Mexico's hands until David Silva tied the match in injury time and it finished all square at 1-1.

"We had more control than Mexico, but we lacked width and failed to get in deep," Del Bosque said. "Without much preparation, my players played like they had spent time training when, in truth, some trained for the first time yesterday.