Distressed faces and tears of sadness rolled down the faces of Kenia Aguirre and her friend Genesis Valero, after the final whistle that spelled the defeat of the Mexican soccer team 2-3 against its counterpart from England.

Thousands of fans filled the Plaza México in Lynwood, where they concluded that for the next occasion they could give the “What if, yes?”

Eliminated from the Soccer World Cup, Mexico made history on its own territory, after managing to reach the round of 16 stage with four wins in a row, with the famous fifth game that it had not achieved for decades in the competition.

In the first rows of the venue, Kenya covered her face so that no one would see her cry: “I thought we would be in the other round,” said the recent sociology graduate from UCLA.

At her side, her friend Génesis wanted to console her, but she also wiped away her own tears. “Mexico played a good game, but we faced an opponent with a lot of potential,” analyzed the cosmetology student and daughter of parents from the state of Guerrero.

The "Yes we can! Yes we can!" resounded during several passages of the game, cheering from a distance for the homeland they left behind many years ago.

“No way,” summarized José Cortés, who was staggering from the dozen beers he drank. "But they played well. You can't ask for anything more from them, because they gave themselves with all their heart."

The feat of What if, yes?

In both Mexico and the United States the phrase “What if?” It became popular among the followers of Javier Aguirre's Tri, because it meant having hope, faith and daring to believe in the improbable and even the impossible.

“And yes, we did pass, we won the Cup,” was the hope of Alma Sosa, a Mexican housewife from Sinaloa, who like her husband wore a t-shirt with the famous phrase.

“And if we don't win, it will be next time,” added Martín Sosa, a floor installer who resides in the city of Pomona. “We didn't make it, but anyway we already won because we hadn't gotten past the fifth game.”

“This position has just been set up!” shouted Olga Leyva, owner of Tamalería Los Yaquis, in Plaza México.

She and staff sold tostilocos, tosticeviche, tostielote and tosticarne, as well as cucumber fresh waters with lemon, melon, strawberry with lemon, pineapple and blueberry with mint.

"Pass it, pass it, pass it! I'm missing $500 for the rent," Mrs. Olga invited potential clients. We have everything and we didn't invent what we didn't!

Australian Jordan Anastasi arrived at that place. “I come with the Mexico shirt, because after my country, it is the team that is my favorite,” said the tourist. “I have visited 40 countries and like the people of Mexico, there is no one like them, they are always friendly.”

Throats dulled by defeat

The thousands of fans dedicated themselves to refining their throats with the goal shout, invited from the stage by José Castillo from Jalisco, lead singer of the band “Estrella Sagrada” from Los Angeles.

With the rhythm of “El Sinaloense”, “La Culebra”, made famous by Banda Machos, “Cielito Lindo” and “Camarón Pelao”, the musical group made the crowd dance.

"We Mexicans are cool. That's how God made us and the soccer players have played with character, and if the Mexican loses, he wins. It's that easy, and yes it is possible!, but if we lose, we are going to cry."

His previous comments took on a reality that was difficult to digest.

Marisol Pérez, manager of the Birriería Jalisco, expressed her nostalgia for her beloved Mexico and her native Manzanillo, Colima.

The song says: "How far I am from the ground where I was born. Immense nostalgia invades my thoughts. Seeing myself so alone and sad, like a leaf in the wind. I would like to cry, I would like to die of feeling...".

Pérez declared that she was proud that people from other countries have worn the Tri jersey and that they have come to Plaza México to support Javier Aguirre's team.

One of those people was Guatemalan Evelyn Ramírez, originally from Xelajú, a flag seller.

“Sales were slow, but we did well,” he said. “You have to make a living.”

At the end of the match, the presence of agents from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was required, since some vandals continually threw bottles and bags of water, even with many children present.