Mexico sacks coach Diego Cocca after humiliating 3-0 loss to USMNT

The Mexican Football Federation needs a new national team captain again. On Monday, the organization announced that manager Diego Cocca had been fired.

That is a very kind message about a decidedly unkind situation. Cocca’s sacking comes days after Mexico’s defeat by the USMNT, a humiliating 3-0 loss in the CONCACAF Nations League semi-finals. Mexico finished third overall with a 1-0 win over Panama, while the USA went all-out after beating Canada 2-0 on Sunday.

Cocca had not been in his position long. He had been a coach for five months – seven games in all – before being sacked. He was the replacement for Tata Martino, who was effectively sacked by the Mexican Football Federation after being eliminated in the group stage at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. That was Mexico’s worst performance at the World Cup in almost 30 years, and it came just a year after Martino lost the 2021 CONCACAF Nations League final and CONCACAF Gold Cup – both to the United States. Cocca lost to the United States in such an embarrassing way once again was probably the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

The decision to sack Cocca comes at a difficult time for the Mexico national team. The CONCACAF Gold Cup is just around the corner and starts in six days. The federation have appointed Jaime Lozano as interim manager so he will help take the team to at least the Gold Cup.