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ROSTOV, Russia -- Mexico midfielder Andres Guardado believes the 7-0 loss to Chile in the 2016 Copa America was a bonding moment for the team currently competing at the 2018 World Cup and that it helped forge the current unity and mental strength of the group. Mexico was undefeated under coach Juan Carlos Osorio going into the quarterfinal game against Chile on June 18, 2016, but was swept aside by the reigning Copa America champions in what is widely regarded as the worst defeat in the history of Mexican football. "Through those difficult moments and failures that we have been through we've constructed the team that we are now," said Guardado in the prematch news conference ahead of Saturday's Group F game against South Korea. "I'm not saying we wouldn't have been able to without if we hadn't gone through it, but I think it was a turning point so that today the national team is so strong internally and the group so united." Osorio said he learned from the one-sided defeat as a manager and that any team can beat another on its day after his side defeated Germany 1-0 in its World Cup opener on Sunday. "I think that that game against Chile was an accident that showed us all, particularly me, that any team can not only defeat any other team, but can thrash anyone else," said Osorio. "In every game you have to go with a plan A and a plan B. "We've suffered and I cried about that defeat," Osorio continued. "I'm thankful to the superior being up above because he's given me the patience to put up with [the criticism]. I'm thankful to Mexico, the federation and this group of players, who I believe have prepared me for any footballing challenge." Meanwhile, Osorio said the situation with defender Rafael Marquez's issues with the U.S. Treasury Department are not having any kind of negative influence on the team. "Regarding that theme we are solely looking at the sporting side of things," Osorio said. "When we knew that Rafa could come with us, we decided to bring him because he brings an important contribution to the squad, on and off the pitch." Marquez, one of very few players to play in five World Cups after coming on as a substitute in the 1-0 win over Germany on Sunday, has been blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury over suspected links to a Mexican drugs cartel, according to the New York Times and other international media. Marquez has reportedly denied any link to drug traffickers. The 39-year-old is not allowed to wear the Mexico team sponsors' logos on his training kit. Information from Reuters was used in this story.
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