USA vs Mexico: Three Mexico national players to watch
Of Mexico’s 29-man roster, they will be missing some key players when they take on the USMNT on Thursday, but there are still a few to watch out for.
The Mexico national team will host the US men’s national team on Thursday in Mexico City in their first of three World Cup qualifiers in hopes of making it to Qatar.
The USMNT have won their last three games against Mexico. The last time Mexico beat them was in a friendly in 2019, 3-0. However, the USMNT have yet to beat Mexico on their own turf, managing scoreless ties in 1997 and 2013 and a 1-1 tie in 2017.
For Mexico to guarantee a World Cup berth, they would need three things: to win the game against the USMNT, for Costa Rica to lose or tie against Canada, and for Panama to lose at home to Honduras.
The Mexico national team will be without some of their key players, including captain Andrés Guardado, Rogeli Funes Morio, Julio Dominguez, and Osvaldo Rodriguez. They will, however, still have some other talented players to watch out for, including these three.
Edson Álvarez
Edson Álvarez has the potential to play as a defender or midfielder, and will likely line up at midfield with Andrés Guardado out. Álvarez is a staple on the Mexico starting lineup. He scored the winning goal in Mexico’s World Cup under-20 against Vanuatu in 2017. In 2019, he played for the national team’s Gold Cup and started in all five games, leading Mexico to win the tournament.
Raúl Jiménez
Forward Raul Jiménez leads the Mexico national team in goals with 29 (in 92 appearances) and could become the seventh highest scorer if he scores against the USA on Thursday. In Mexico’s previous qualifier, Jiménez rescued three points for the team, scoring from the penalty spot.
Hirving Lozano
Forward Hirving Lozano has scored one goal for the Mexico national team so far and four on the club level for Napoli this season. He was out with an injury for over a month, but was able to join the club team for a few games to get back on track to play with Mexico on Thursday. He will play a key role in the team’s quest to get to Qatar.