Mexico vs USA: International Soccer Friendly Schedule, Rosters, Stream, Predictions & Preview
Soccer fans will get one more international friendly exhibition game until South Africa and Botswana face off on May 24.
Mexico and the United States will renew their North American soccer rivalry on Wednesday night in Texas. While neither the U.S. nor Mexico has ever even made it to a FIFA World Cup Final, these two nations have had their rivalry moments on the field plenty of times before. One of the most notable was the 2002 World Cup, when the U.S. eliminated Mexico in the Round of 16.
These two teams will both be competing at the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer. This is just a small preview of things to come:
Mexico (18)
Mexico is ranked No. 18 in the world, and No. 2 in the CONCACAF confederation behind only Costa Rica, who is presently ranked No. 15.
Like the United States, Mexico struggles big time at the World Cup when facing South American and European superpowers, but Mexico has won the most Gold Cups. Mexico has won three of the last six Gold Cups, and they have the most ever with six. Miguel Herrera has done a fine job managing Mexico, as they have won their last two international friendlies, against Ecuador and Paraguay.
Mexico's best offensive player, Javier Hernandez, will not be playing. Jonathan Orozco is expected to get the start in net.
Mexico Roster:
Goalkeepers: Jonathan Orozco Cirilo Saucedo
Defenders: Oswaldo Alanis, George Corral, Francisco Rodriguez, Julio Cesar Dominguez, Gerardo Flores, Hiram Mier, Luis Rodríguez, Carlos Salcedo, Efrain Velarde
Midfielders: Adrian Aldrete, Luis Montes, Mario Osuna, Antonio Rios
Forwards: Marco Bueno, Carlos Esquivel, Eduardo Herrera, Erick Torres
USA (27)
The US is ranked No. 27 in the world, surprising many soccer fans. As far as regional, this squad comes in at third in the CONCACAF confederation behind only Mexico and Costa Rica. The U.S. will be competing at the Gold Cup this summer, a tournament they have won five times.
Manager Jürgen Klinsmann knows this team has a big problem late in games. Since the 2014 World Cup, the U.S. has been outscored 12-to-1 in the second half in their contests. Not having Tim Howard in net hurts, but even players like Jozy Altidore have been losing their poise on field in crunch time.
The U.S. has only won one in their last five international friendly games, and their next one will be against the Netherlands in June.
US Roster:
Goalkeeper: Bill Hamid, Nick Rimando, William Yarbrough
Defenders: Ventura Alvarado, Matt Besler, Brad Evans, Greg Garza, Omar Gonzalez, Michael Orozco, Brek Shea, DeAndre Yedlin
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman, Michael Bradley, Joe Corona, Mix Diskerud, Miguel Ibarra, Lee Nguyen
Forwards: Juan Agudelo , Julian Green , Jordan Morris, Chris Wondolowski, Gyasi Zardes
Schedule, Where to Watch
Mexico and the United States will play each other on Wednesday, April 15 at 8:30 p.m. EST. The game will be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The game will be shown on Fox Sports 1. Fans can watch a live game stream here.
Prediction
Neither team will be at full strength. Both Mexico and the U.S. will be resting much of their starters, so this is a good chance for both coaches to see just how good their roster really is. Although this game won't have a huge impact on any type of standings, both teams want to come out on top. The U.S.'s inability to close games will be their downfall once again.
Mexico wins 2-1
Rosters provided by ussoccer.com
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