Yankees Go Home; Mexico Goes On After Dramatic Tie

By HELENE ELLIOTT

June 26, 1998 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

PARIS — Luis Hernandez wasn’t supposed to play against the Netherlands on Thursday in Mexico’s first-round finale, having been hobbled by an ankle injury in the team’s previous game against Belgium.

Mexico wasn’t supposed to make it to the second round of the World Cup tournament, having been thrown into confusion during its preparation by mediocre results and a coaching change.

But he did and it did.

Thanks to Hernandez’s goal in the fifth minute of injury time, Mexico erased a two-goal deficit for the second successive game and pulled out an unlikely and exciting 2-2 draw at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne. The Netherlands and Mexico each had 1-0-2 records and five points in the first round, but the Dutch finished first in Group E because their plus-five goal differential was better than Mexico’s plus-two.

Mexico wrested the second round-of-16 spot away from the more highly regarded Belgians, who had three points on three draws.

“I am happy. It was an unbelievable game,” Hernandez said. “It was a fantastic game for us, a triumph for Mexico and the Mexican people.”

Thousands of the Mexican people with their faces painted in the national colors celebrated in Mexico City, with 2,000 riot police standing nearby.

In the next round, Mexico faces Group F winner Germany on Monday at Montpellier and the Netherlands faces Yugoslavia on Monday at Toulouse.

“It’s a very difficult World Cup; all the teams have been fighting to qualify,” Mexico Coach Manuel Lapuente said. “Now, we’ll do our best to reach the quarterfinals.”

Through the first 45 minutes Thursday, they seemed headed home, not to the second round.

The Netherlands, the seeded team in the group, played with assurance and precision, scoring twice in the first 20 minutes and narrowly missing goals on several other occasions before halftime.

In the fifth minute, Philip Cocu outran Mexican defender Duilio Davino to capture a pass from Dennis Bergkamp and thump it past Jorge Campos with a solid, left-footed shot. Midfielder Ronald de Boer padded the lead to 2-0 in the 19th minute.

“In the first half we scored two beautiful goals and in the 10 to 15 minutes after halftime, we played well,” said Guus Hiddink, the Netherlands’ coach. “Then, we relaxed our defense and let the Mexicans attack us.”

Said Lapuente: “Right from the beginning we tried to play well, but frankly, we lacked confidence and cohesion. It was only in the second half that we were able to attack as we wanted. . . . I told my players not to lose faith. With faith you move mountains. They have a big heart and they displayed that all over the field.”

Using four strikers to pressure the Netherlands’ defense, Mexico broke through in the 75th minute, when substitute Ricardo Pelaez bounced a corner kick by German Villa past goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

And although Mexico lost an apparent goal in the 89th minute on an offside call--and lost midfielder Ramon Ramirez for the rest of the game and the next game because his dissent drew a red card from referee Abdul Rahman Al Zeid--it never lost hope.

Hernandez, nicknamed “El Matador,” looked more like a raging bull on his goal, his third of the tournament. Pushing his way past the Netherlands’ Jaap Stam, one of the best defenders in the world, the blond striker chased down a pass from Pelaez and used his left foot to flick the ball under Stam and past Van der Sar.

Guiding Mexico to the second round earned Lapuente a congratulatory phone call from Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo.

“This is a holiday,” Lapuente said. “Why not go out in the streets to celebrate? But do it the right way.”