Rafael Marquez, Giovani Dos Santos, Andres Guardado and Guillermo Achoa headline a strong Mexican roster that will face the U.S. national team in a friendly in Houston on Wednesday.
Here is the full Mexican roster:
GOALKEEPERS: Guillermo Ochoa (Club América), LuÃs Ernesto Michel (CD Guadalajara), Moisés Muñoz (Morelia)
DEFENDERS: Rafael Márquez (FC Barcelona / SPA), Carlos Salcido (PSV Eindhoven / HOL), Johnny Magallón (CD Guadalajara), Fausto Pinto (Pachuca), Israel Castro (Pumas UNAM), Oscar Rojas (América)
MIDFIELDERS: Pavel Pardo (VFB Stuttgart / GER), Gerardo Torrado (Cruz Azul), Francisco Arce (Santos Laguna), Andrés Guardado (Deportivo la Coruna / SPA), Antonio Naelson (Toluca)
FORWARDS: Giovani Dos Santos (FC Barcelona / SPA), Carlos Vela (Osasuna), Juan Carlos Cacho (Pachuca), Adolfo Bautista (Jaguares de Chiapas), Antonio de Nigris (Ankaraspor / TUR)
As expected, Mexico coach Hugo Sanchez will be fielding a very strong squad. We are still waiting on the U.S. roster, but you shouldn’t expect a full-strength roster from Bob Bradley, who will be looking to leave some players in Europe who are either new to their clubs or unsettled at their clubs.
What do you think of this Mexico roster? Share your thoughts below.
Andres Guardado, Nery Castillo, Franco Villa & Ricardo Osorio will not be on Mexico’s Roster. The Defense and Midfield will be solid. Everyone is talking about giovani dos santos… look for Villaluz Guardados replacement. He is a scrappy talented early 20’s player…similar built as Donavan.
All being said, Mexico wins 2-1 in a close game.
miguel, your insightful analysis is truly astounding
MEXICO WILL WIN THIS GAME BECAUSE THEY ARE THE BEST……AND BECAUSE THEY HAVE NERY CASTILLO,CACHO,GUARDADO,OCHOA AND ALL OF THEM AWSOME PLAYER…..
well i think that mexico will be able to win over usa . i mean mexico has pretty good players especially now that mexico has players playing in europe i think that usa hasn’t have a good chance going up against mexico this wendsday
As an Arsenal fan I’m anxious to see Vela play. I’ll take a solid performance with no goals in another Mexican defeat.
Carlos Vela is the only player who scares me on this roster…and Guardado – a little bit. But Vela unquestionably has IT. Not the most prolific goal scorer for Osasuna, but a beast on the field. He reminds me a lot of Landon. Check out his play and I think you’ll see what I mean.
Mexico has called a strong squad to the fray. United States has a solid team, but I do not think they are going to call Dempsy,Bradley,Adu, just some solid MLS players. United States will win remember last year Mexico had their strongest team, and US did not and still managed to beat them 2-0. Go USA, we will win. USA USA USA!
Mexico has called a strong squad to the fray. United States has a solid team, but I do not think they are going to call Dempsy,Bradley,Adu, just some solid MLS players. United States will win remember last year Mexico had their strongest team, and US did not and still managed to beat them 2-0. Go USA, we will win. USA USA USA!
Unfortunately the Mexicans will play dirty, in an interview to Mexican Defender Oscar “el kevin” Rojas in Mexico he said, and I am translating word by word “I absolutely dislike Landon Donovan! I believe he has talk bad about our national team and that, I don’t like! I hope to have the chance to talk to him and show him on the pitch who really is Mexico. I hope to beat them and leave Landon Donovan something to remember me by, I don’t care what or how but he will remember me, he will stop talking bad about us!”
People. Nobody who plays in Europe is available for this game. I don’t even think Jozy is available.
Tough call for Bradley. Do you give some relatively inexperienced guys an opportunity against a strong Mexican side, given that this game in terms of WCQ means nothing…or, do you take the stance that this is our biggest, most disliked rival who we should strive to beat every chance we get? Don’t think that the Mexicans are taking this lightly. Just look at the roster. They WANT to beat us, and they’ve been mightily frustrated for a long time.
You know the Mexicans are going to play aggresive, and maybe even dirty, so good judgement tells me to keep our best guys out of this relatively meaningless match, and avoid a worthless injury to a key player. The Beasley injury w/ Rangers FC already hurts enough. We don’t need another one.
Don’t forget that this same bunch just had a nice win over Sweden, so it’s not like they can’t compete. I don’t think this current U.S. camp group is nearly as weak as the group that went to the Copa America. I could see them getting it done against Mexico.
I hope Michael Bradley comes home for this one too!
All you need to say is 2-0! Mexican National pride has been at stake for each of the last 5 games between Mexico – USA… and they all resulted in losses for El Tri…. I expect more of the same on Wed.
Players I’m surpised not on that list:
Osario (RB, Stuttgart)
Rodriguez (CB, Guadalajara)
Pineda (CM/LM, Guadalajara)
Medina (RM/LM, Guadalajara)
Certainly feels like the streak will end. I sense Bradley sees this as another tune up on the way to qualifiers, a chance to see some more people in action. I think Tri feels national pride is at stake. I heard Landon on US Soccer saying the streak isn’t going to last forever. Not the kind of comment you want to hear. I’m ok w/ not bringing all the euros in, but I hope whoever does play brings their A game and makes it a good match. And I will be very disappointed if we don’t get at least one half of Jozy.
cant wait to see this game, one of the few times ill feel happy to live in houston. on the other hand, shows how despread mexico is to beat the US. theyre going with their A team, but the US is ready for any mexico team.
mike ruze, “So Mex has more naturalized players on their roster then the Great Melting Pot.” From what I know, the only naturalized players that they have or used are Zinha and Caballero (in WC 2002). You do remember that Adu was born in Ghana…..Game should be intense as always. Vela could be a real problem for the US if he starts. As usual, Landycakes will bring his A game against Mexico.
I live in San Diego and can get mexican tv. Mexico wants to put an end to their USA vs Mexico losses. I mean, they really want to win badly. They (tv commentators) can’t believe that their team is loosing, in their view, to a bunch of chumps. Kind of funny to see them talk.
They ae eally tryin to break the chokehold we have on them. They called in NAelson?
So Mex has more naturilized players on their roster then the Great Melting Pot.
So if we win we can expect them to naturalize more Brazilians for the next match.
I am excited for this match, no matter who we put on this field. It is always an interesting and exciting match when we play the men from south of the border.
As long as it doesn’t get too dirty (a la Oswaldo “the cheat” Sanchez I will be happy.
This game is like a derby match, between countries instead of clubs. I am just giddy, haha.
I like this matchup only If bob calls up Altidore, Adu, Bradley, Edu, and starts Guzan. Who ever he calls up will be interesting to see how mexico’s A team will do against them.
To a previous comment. They are splitting the stadium into one side Mexico and the other US. Behind the goals is gonna be mix
I agree with Chaz. The Mexicans need this game more than we do (Gold Cup anyone?), and their squad reflects that. Regardless of who else Bradley brings in for this one, their only choice is win. Lose, draw or look bad in the process of winning and the heat is squarely back on Chavez’s shoulders. Conversely, we win with an inferior squad and it’s a huge blow to them and a big lift psychologically for us.
I think 70/30 support might be a bit generous for the U.S. unfortunately. Dos Santos has not impressed, but Mexico has a very strong side. Castillo is carrying an injury at the moment. Landon Donovan will need to be at his best for the U.S.
Everton is unlikely to willingly release Howard, as he suffered an injury in his last call up. Dempsey just needs a rest for Fulham- but Bocanegra hasn’t been playing that much, and could certainly feature. Onyewu on the other hand should remain in Belgium and DeMerit should stay with Watford, who have seen their automatic promotion spot slip in recent weeks.
Euro reinforcements might bring this up to a B team for the U.S. I can envision Bobby Convey, the excellent Steve Cherundolo, and possibly Freddy Adu or Michael Bradley reporting for this match. With Guzan returning to the U.S. I think Marcus Hahnemann does not need to be called in. Eddie Lewis has suffered an injury with Derby and won’t be needed until qualifiers in any case (if at all).
I think Bradley has to call a full lineup, regardless of the player’s status with their clubs. This isn’t Sweden’s B-Team, this is Mexico. This is the only side that can come close to us in CONCACAF. The best 11 must be on the pitch.
No way Altidore starts, he’s being brought along slowly.
Personally, I’ll be happy with a B team, ’cause I think Landon and a B team will still beat Mexico and then we’ll be living in their heads. It’ll drive ’em nuts.
Granted, by B team we’re still talking Landon, Edu, Conrad, Guzan, Bradley & Adu
Anyone care to hazard a guess on crowd allegiance in Houston? I’ll say 70/30 in favor of Mexico. (dammit)
Where is the USA final Roster? Any idea?
I’m getting the feeling that Mexico sees this as an opportunity to get over the mental block they have against playing us. Hugo Sanchez has to know we aren’t going to be feilding a particularly strong roster, yet he’s bringing a strong, experienced squad. I can see Sanchez trying to restore some lost confidence against the Americans with this one. Mexico is going in it to win it. If Mexico wins, great. They can say they finally ended their losing streak. If they tie, or much much worse, if they lose, their mental hole they’ve dug themselves will get a lot deeper.
i dont care what they call it,the mexico game is never a friendly.i believe we can still beat them,but it would be nice to see the euro players come,so we can destroy them and their a-team….
I think people are overstating the the nature of a friendly like this and this current juncture. The US team is not in a state of disarray like England and if Mexico wins, and it’s still a big if with the roster Bradley could field, the world is going to see that it was USA B-team vs. Mexico A-team. If Bradley doesn’t bring in Feilhaber, Pierce and the Fulham gang, it’s not a huge deal. We’ve still got a squad to play with Mexico and several players who it will be intriguing to see given another chance at a higher stakes game.
Strong, but most definitely beatable.
Bradley needs to have Altidore and Adi on the field. They are the future of the team and need to start playing in big matches like this.
The Mexican squad is good but entirely beatable. People are getting far too excited about Dos Santos who has been a disappointment to Barca fans (myself and others) all year. He is more hype than performance at this point. Extraordinarily weak on the ball for a player as hyped as he is. The instant he’s touched he loses possession. It doesn’t bode well for him because if there is one thing Gooch and Boca do well, it’s make rough challenges on people. :p
good side. missing a few key players, but overall an “A” side. Mexico will come to win, but they will clearly experiment with formations and roles…after all this is a friendly. As someone mentioned, US has group has been together for quite a while now. Cohesion is a huge factor in these games.
Should be a great game.
With Guardado, Vela, Castillo, and Dos Santos, I fear that the US is going to have a serious problem with Mexico for the next ten or twelve years. I just don’t think we can match that kind of attack. Then again, we always seem to somehow shut them down.
I still rank the ’02 World Cup match as one of the greatest sporting events I have ever seen. I don’t wake up at 4 AM for much, but that game was worth it.
Great, tough Mexican side. We beat this side without some of our mainstays and we can really be optimistic about the next couple of years.
Ives,
Is there any chance Altidore can get pulled out of the u23 camp for this match?
But yea. I think we have a big advantage, some if not the majority of the player who are going to play against Mexico have been in the camp for about 3-4 weeks by now, while mexico is just starting their camp.
Man can’t wait to see Lil’Bradley destroy the mexican midfield and defense.
we’re finished. especially if bradley vacuously puts landon on the wing again…adu, altidore, dempsey, beasley, are musts – guardado, dos santos, and vela will destroy us otherwise
sure give guzan a game; what hurts more, getting rejected from harvard or the home office?
Looks like a strong squad but where is Omar Bravo?
Lets get Guzan in there. Not only do I like him more than Tim Howard, but he needs all the caps he can get if he wants to have a chance at that work permit for the summer transfer window.
I WASN’T expecting a strong Mexico squad, but this team is solid.
Well, I just hope that once again a weak U.S. team will beat a strong Mexican one. I never take these games for granted, but I revel in every win knowing TRI fans couldn’t possibly be more frustrated.
So let’s see what happens.
Always trying to bring the man down… That’s OK. You can’t expect everyone to be familiar with the injury report for every league.(I know I’m not.)
But wow. This is a very strong squad. Strong enough to think the streak may end. Although the streak seems like it’s going to end every time only to see the USMNT prolong it, this time feels different.
Several of these players are playing great for their clubs, especially those in Europe. (Although you can argue Dos Santos hasn’t played as expected the last few weeks.)
Then you think about who’s in camp right now for the USMNT and realize Euro reinforcements won’t be in full force. And the outlook for USMNT fans seem dire.
But I won’t doubt that this will be another exciting nail-biter. This is US-Mexico on US soil, after all.
The majority of the guys that will be starting are players we are familiar with, and even though they are solid, they don’t scare me…. except Guardado, Dos Santos, and Vela. Their lightning pace and technical ability causes alot of problems for our two favored CBs, Onyewu and Bocanegra. I’m kind of curious about di Negris as well just because I’ve never seen him play before.
it would be good if called a solid squad and played the best players not just anybody who Bradley feels needs a chance
honestly all i want is altidore and guzan to start. adu would be nice, but altidore and guzan figure to be readily available (hence in the mix) for every qualifier- this is the best test they are going to get.
i hope bob bradley really understands how important it is to usa fans to beat mexico every time.we dont care what the circumstances are.he better come with it or he could fall out of favor with the fans real quick.i would rather see us beat mexico than brazil,argentina,italy etc….
there is talk that andreas guardado has an injury…….
nery castillo is injured.seperated shoulder..
Ives,
Where’s Nery Castillo? Didn’t you rate him as one of the top CONCACAF players? I don’t even see him called in here.
Time to call up both Adu and Altidore to match up with Dos Santos and Vela, this time on a bigger stage (than U-20s).