Moreno: Mexico have nothing to lose

Hector Moreno believes Mexico can go into the FIFA World Cup in Brazil without the weight of expectation on their shoulders.

Mexico struggled in the CONCACAF section of qualifying, finishing fourth in a group of six, which was good enough to earn Miguel Herrera’s men an intercontinental play-off against New Zealand.

A 9-3 aggregate success sealed an ultimately comfortable passage, and Moreno thinks he and his team-mates can begin the tournament against Cameroon on Friday without worry.

“We’re arriving under a lot less pressure than on past occasions, when people expected great things from the team,” he told FIFA.com.

“The general feeling is that we don’t have anything to lose, and that’s how we’re approaching it.

“I think that we’ll pleasantly surprise a lot of people.

“In all honesty, I’m very excited. Although we always believed in ourselves, we went through some difficult moments.

“Now we feel that the worst is behind us, and we’re so motivated to get out there and play a great tournament.”

Back in 2010, Moreno – then 22 – was part of the squad that reached the second round of the finals in South Africa, and the Espanyol man will call on those memories to aid him in Brazil.

“It’s very different,” he said. “Back then everything was new and unexpected. Now things have changed.

“I have much more international experience, but also the bad times help you to remain level-headed.

“I think I’m enjoying it more this time around, because I know how hard it was to get here.”