SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (AP) — Mexican national team coach Javier Aguirre sustained a head injury after being hit by an object at the end of a Nations League quarterfinal match against Honduras on Friday.
At the end of the game that Mexico lost 2-0 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Aguirre walked up to greet Colombian coach Reinaldo Rueda when he was struck by an object, apparently a beer can that cut him and caused his head to bleed.
"Nothing it is just soccer, the game was hard fought, and they played better," Aguirre said at a media conference at the end of the match. "Regarding the other (the incident), there's no need to mention it, I'm not one who complains, it is just soccer, nothing happened."
The 65-year-old Aguirre is in this third stint at the helm of the Mexican national team. He took over last August, replacing Jaime Lozano, who was fired after a first-round elimination in Copa America.
"I'm sad for what happened at the end of the match, because he is a human being," said Rueda. "I want to apologize to the Mexican people and to Aguirre, this cannot happen."
Mexico will host Honduras next Tuesday in the second leg of their quarterfinal series.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
