Mexico vs. Belarus: International Friendly Schedule, Predictions & Stream
Mexico and Belarus are set to play each other Tuesday in an international friendly competition in Europe for the final time this year.
This game should be very interesting, as these two teams don't have much of a history with one another. Mexico and Belarus have never faced each other in the FIFA World Cup before. This will be the final friendly game of 2014 for both of these teams, and a lot of roster questions remain for both squads.
Latin Post.com previews this must-watch soccer game and predicts who will win:
Mexico
The Mexican National Team is ranked No. 17 in the world, and No. 2 in CONCACAF. Costa Rica is the only CONCACAF team ahead of Mexico in the world rankings.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup ended in disappointment. For the seventh consecutive World Cup, Mexico failed to advance past the group stage. A late game meltdown to the Netherlands cost Mexico an invitation against Costa Rica.
Miguel Herrera is the manager of the Mexican squad
Mexico has a strong offense and middle field. Forwards Javier Hernandez and Giovani dos Santos create a well-balanced offense along with Carlos Vela. Hernandez and Santos both scored a goal during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Andrés Guardado is one of the fastest-rising young stars in the soccer world. The young 28-year-old scored against Croatia in a critical Group A game. Guardado has already played in three World Cups in his career.
The defenders on Mexico are young, but effective. Paul Aguilar leads the defensive unit with Diego Reyes. Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa (who had a very good World Cup performance) gives this Mexican team a very balanced squad.
Mexico has won their last four consecutive friendly matches against Bolivia, Honduras, Panama and the Netherlands.
Belarus
The Belarus National Team is ranked No. 106 in the world and No. 43 in UEFA.
Unfortunately for Belarus, they have not qualified for a FIFA World Cup since they were part of the Soviet Union.
Belarus won their last friendly against Tajikistan, 6-1. In that game, all six goals scored were scored by six different players, including a penalty kick by Ihar Stasevich. Goalkeeper Yuri Zhevnov is the team captain, and he has a good defense in front of him. Alyaksandr Martynovich and Igor Shitov lead the defensive unit along with Maksim Bardachow.
Despite being the 106th ranked team in the world, Belarus does have a talented middle field. Syarhey Kislyak, Anton Putsila and Timofei Kalachev create a balance middle field that can control the ball. Kislyak also scored against Tajikistan in their last friendly.
Belarus' biggest weakness is their offense. Outside of Sergei Kornilenko, Belarus doesn't have many great attackers. Andrei Zygmantovich is still in the first year as head coach of Belarus.
Schedule, Where to Watch
Mexico and Belarus will play each other on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 12 p.m. EST on ESPNEWS. The game will be played at the Borisov Arena in Barysaw, Belarus. You can view a live game stream here.
Predictions
Both Mexico and Belarus are coming off victories, and would love to end 2014 with an exhibition win. Overall, Mexico is just a better team. Belarus will have home-field advantage, and have the crowd behind their backs, but Mexico's defense should get the job done on both sides of the field.
Mexico wins 4-2
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