Miguel Layún struck inside the opening 20 minutes to propel Mexico to a 1-0 victory over Bolivia in Commerce City, Colo.
Layún moved intelligently toward the far post and thumped home a rebound from close range to separate the sides in the 18th minute. El Tri created several opportunities to extend the lead over the course of the night, but it failed to take them against an impotent Bolivia side incapable of posing much of a threat until the second half.
Bolivia improved after the break and nearly snatched an equalizer in second-half stoppage time despite the dismissal of Ramiro Ballivian for making contact with the assistant referee moments earlier. Ronald Egunio spurned a glorious opportunity when he turned his free header onto the far post, but El Tri escaped to secure a deserved first post-World Cup victory.
Mexico boss Miguel Herrera gave his fringe players a chance to impress after watching his regulars claim a 0-0 draw with Chile on Saturday. Chivas USA forward Erick Torres featured from the start to make his full debut, while Herrera also found places for fellow hopefuls Hiram Mier, Rodolfo Pizarro and Luis Venegas.
The fresh faces played their part on a night when Mexico dominated the play for large stretches, but their inability to claim a more comfortable win stopped them from making an irrefutable case for further inclusion. Herrera will expect more sharpness from his players in the coming months as he continues to plan for next summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Mexico asserted dominion over the proceedings from the outset with this revamped side more than capable of establishing control over the overwhelmed Bolivians. Javier Aquino blazed high inside the first five minutes as El Tri looked for the sharpness required to transform its superiority into end product.
Chivas USA striker Erick Torres made his Mexico debut and played a part in Miguel Layun's winner.
Bolivia hacked and scythed in a bid to impede the Mexicans' halting progress, but those efforts merely exposed the gaps between the two sides. It proved only a matter of time before El Tri solidified the gulf with the opening goal.
Torres shouldered much of the burden for creating opener by collecting the ball on the edge of the penalty area and playing a quick one-two with Javier Orozco to create an opening. His resulting effort prompted a kick save from Daniel Vaca, but Layún followed the initial effort and thrashed home the inviting rebound for his third international goal.
The opener should have provided Mexico with the impetus to consolidate its advantage before the break, but the ragged work in the final third led to squandered chances instead. Orozco and Torres both spurned opportunities to open their account on the night as El Tri struggled to translate territorial dominance into a more robust advantage by the interval.
Bolivia improved once play resumed after a raft of halftime substitutions, but Mexico remained the more likely of the teams to score. Herrera inserted Andrés Guardado and Oribe Peralta after the hour in a bid to perk up the proceedings and prompt more end product.
The alterations worked as Vaca found himself called into action more frequently in the final half-hour. The veteran goalkeeper kept his footing to push Layún's deflected effort from distance over the bar and then summoned a fine one-handed save to deny Torres on the turn.
Both teams continued their churn in the waning stages of the match and watched as the game picked up on both ends. Guardado hit the post with a stinging drive with a shot from distance, while Egunio replicated the feat with his header in the final seconds. The late effort off the post crushed the Bolivians after their second-half improvement, but it provided a deserved reprieve for a Mexican side that did enough on the night to complete this two-game stretch with a win.
