Mexico and Cameroon will kick off their 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign on Friday, 12 p.m. EST, at the Estadios Das Dunas in Natal, Brazil.

Their tournament opener will be an important match for both Mexico and Cameroon as they are virtually playing for second place in Group A, which is expected to be dominated by host Brazil.

Getting three points in every winnable game in Group A means a lot if a team wants to advance to the knockout stages along with Brazil.

Mexico, who are considered as favorite heading into Friday's match, will look to prove that they are ready to make noise in the Brazil tournament after going through a lot of disappointments and distractions during their World Cup preparation.

Mexico coach Miguel Herrera, who took over after three other coaches left the team last year, is confident that his squad is mentally prepared for a tough grind, saying that they will "fight to death" against Cameroon to have a good chance of advancing to the next round.

"Every training session leaves me easy and calm knowing every player will leave their last bead of sweat and last breath on the field to please the Mexican fans," Herrera said via SuperSport. "We will fight to the death."

But while he is confident about his team's chances on Friday, Herrera remains wary of Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o, who has scored 56 goals for Cameroon.

Herrera will deploy a five-man backline to limit the attacking threat of Cameroon, particularly Eto'o. Good thing for Mexico -- they have team captain Rafael Marquez on their side.

Marquez is expected to be given the task to contain Eto'o as he is very familiar with the 33-year-old striker having played together for several years at Barcelona.

"That will be something special because Eto'o is a good friend of mine but now he is my opponent," Marquez said of his matchup with Eto'o. "He is one of the pillars so it will be key to always be on top of him."

And with Eto'o being a marked man, Cameroon striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting needs to step up for his squad if they want to have a chance of defeating the Mexican squad.

Choupo-Moting, who is described as the most clinical player in the Cameroonian side, scored two goals in five games during the World Cup Qualifying tournament and netted three goals in four pre-tournament friendlies.

The Mexico-Cameroon match will be shown live on ESPN2, while fans can also catch the action through WatchESPN live stream.

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