From the first moments of Mexico's group match against Gabon, a different type of attack emerged for El Tri than it had presented in its Olympic opener on Thursday. Free of South Korea's defensive alignment and precise passing, Mexico immediately began to find spaces in the offensive zone.

In the first six minutes, Mexico had launched three shots, a veritable barrage compared to what it produced against South Korea. Mexico did not tally a shot against South Korea until the 40th minute.

What worked to Mexico's advantage on Sunday in its 2-0 win was that Gabon, unlike South Korea, was never able to maintain steady possession. Several times it clumsily gave up the ball, which allowed Mexico to get into an offensive flow.

Mexico often showed a patience it didn't show against South Korea. In that match, El Tri, after struggling to gain possession, would often frantically try to push the ball up the field, which would often result in a wayward pass or a turnover. Against Gabon, Mexico was often content to win possession, hold the ball up and pass it back toward the defensive zone to reset the offense.