( CNN ) -- Coaching the Mexican national team is proving to be a difficult assignment . When Mexico parted company with Victor Manuel Vucetich and replaced him with Miguel Herrera on Friday , it marked the third time in a month El Tri changed their football manager . Vucetich did n't have much time to mold the side , as he was only brought in when interim boss Luis Fernando Tena got the boot . Tena himself inherited the position after Jose Manuel de la Torre received his marching orders earlier in September . Vucetich won his first game 2-1 against Panama , needing a late goal to earn all three points , but lost his second 2-1 at Costa Rica . Mexico , a proud footballing nation that has appeared in the last five World Cups , won men 's Olympic gold in 2012 by topping Neymar 's Brazil and captured the under-17 World Cup in 2011 , only scraped into a World Cup playoff when fiercest rival the U.S. scored two goals in injury time to beat the Panamanians 3-2 on the road . Had Panama hung on for the victory , it , not Mexico , would have faced New Zealand next month in the two-leg shootout to reach Brazil . Vucetich , who has 25 years of coaching experience , likely did n't help his cause ahead of the game against Costa Rica when he labeled his team `` arrogant . '' `` In our game , sometimes we exaggerate , we become arrogant , '' he told reporters . `` I think this is the moment that we should reflect and show , above all , on the pitch that we need to win . '' Vucetich revealed Thursday that he had been axed , with Mexico 's football federation officially announcing the coaching shuffle Friday . Mexico 's struggles in qualifying came as the U.S. topped the group , Costa Rica finished second and Honduras claimed the third and final automatic World Cup spot . While Mexico reached the second round in South Africa three years ago , Honduras was last in its group and Costa Rica did n't qualify for the tournament . On paper Herrera , a former defender for the national team , should lead Mexico to Brazil since New Zealand is ranked 79th by FIFA and Mexico stands 24th but the recent disarray wo n't hurt the Kiwis ' chances of playing at a second straight World Cup . Herrera guided Club America to the Mexican Clausura title in May . Vucetich not the only manager to go . Vucetich has n't been the only manager to lose his job despite his team making the playoffs -- Croatia fired former national team defender Igor Stimac after a 2-1 loss at Scotland . He was replaced by Niko Kovac , the former hard-nosed captain of Croatia . Australia sacked Holger Osieck following back-to-back 6-0 defeats against Brazil and France despite the Socceroos being one of the first nations to book a spot in Brazil .
Mexico fires manager Victor Manuel Vucetich after only two games in charge . Vucetich won both of his games and led Mexico to a playoff against New Zealand . Mexico has played in the last five World Cups and won men 's gold at London 2012 . Mexico went into the playoffs after which the U.S. rallied to beat Panama .