WORLD CUP 2022
Mexico en route for Qatar and hoping to play ‘the fifth game’
The Mexican national team will face Poland, Argentina and Saudi Arabia in Group C of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
The Mexican national team left for Qatar on Thursday in high spirits despite suffering a defeat in their last World Cup warm-up game against Sweden. El Tri packed their bags and said their goodbyes to Girona in the hope that a change of scenery will lead to a change of fortunes in their opening game of the tournament against Poland.
Mexico to arrive in Doha later on Thursday for 2022 World Cup
The players were full of smiles as they boarded the Doha-bound plane and in a few hours’ time will settle into their World Cup camp, which will be home for at least a couple of weeks.
Doubts over Jesús Gallardo and Raúl Jiménez
Jesús Gallardo’s performance at left-back against the Swedes has left head coach Gerardo Martino unconvinced and may have opened the door to a starting spot for Gerardo Arteaga, who enjoyed a really good first half of the season with Genk in Belgium.
Further up the field, it looks as if Alexis Vega and Hirving Lozano are nailed on to start on the wings. However, there remains a question over who will start as the central striker, with Henry Martín and Rogelio Funes Mori now thought to be ahead of Raúl Jiménez, who has been suffering from some well-documented injury issues, in the pecking order.
The curse of the ‘fifth game’
As is the case before every World Cup, there has been lots of talk of Mexico’s chances of reaching ‘el quinto partido’ (the fifth game), which refers to the quarter-finals. Not since 1986, when they were beaten in the last eight by West Germany, have El Tri progressed that far in the competition. Incredibly, they have been beaten in the round of 16 in each of the last seven World Cups dating back to USA ‘94.