History in the World Cup
Mexico are almost ever presents in the FIFA World Cup, having made 15 previous appearances. They will also be looking to make it out of the groups for the seventh time in a row. The big concern is that they have only gone past the Round of 16 on two occasions, 1970 & 1986, both on home soil.
Current Form
El Tri finished top of CONCACAF qualifying and come into the tournament with a good balance of youth and experience. The Mexicans put a good showing at last year's confederations cup in Russia, where they finished fourth after losing 2-1 to Portugal in extra time. Since then, Mexico have been patchy - played 14, won 8, drawn 3 and lost 3 - but, you would tip them to make it out of the groups.
Squad (Probables)
Manager: Juan Carlos Osorio
Goalkeepers:Â Guillermo Ochoa, Alfredo Talavera, Jesus Corona
Defenders:Â Diego Reyes, Carlos Salcedo, Hector Moreno, Oswaldo Alanis, Nestor Araujo, Miguel Layun, Jesus Gallardo, Hugo Ayala, Edson Alvarez
Midfielders:Â Hector Herrera, Andres Guardado, Rafa Marquez, Jonathan dos Santos, Marco Fabian, Jesus Molina, Erick Gutierrez, Giovani dos Santos
Forwards:Â Javier Aquino, Jesus "Tecatito" Corona, Raul Jimenez, Oribe Peralta, Javier Hernandez, Carlos Vela, Hirving Lozano, Jurgen Damm
Danger Man
Hirving "Chucky" Lozano has been lethal, scoring 17 goals and assisting 8 in 29 appearances, for PSV as they claimed the Eredivisie. Unusually, for a modern right-footed wide man, Chucky is most comfortable on the right side. He is adept at coming in off the left, but, his crossing ability means he's more dangerous with his stronger foot on the outside. At 22 years of age, he doesn't yet have the maturity to know when he's slipping out of the game and when his influence is needed, which means he can spend large stretches of the game on the periphery. A wiser, calmer head would pick his moments, either to pass forward or come short for the ball (and register better passing numbers).
Current Rankings
FIFA : Current - 15
Highest - 4
ELO : Current - 16
Highest - 1
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