Mexico will look to continue their perfect run during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification cycle on Tuesday when they host Canada in Group A.
El Tri have won all three of their qualifiers so far and have yet to concede a single goal. Their 3-0 win over the Canadians on Friday was perhaps their best performance of the cycle so far, and a repeat performance on home soil is expected.
Here's everything you need to know about Tuesday's match.
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
TV Info: Fox Sports 1 USA
Live Stream: Fox Soccer 2Go
Preview
Mexico provided a masterclass of attacking football during Friday's 3-0 win over Canada at BC Place, with Javier Hernandez and Hirving Lozanofinding the net in the first half and Jesus Corona adding another goal after half-time.
El Tri moved with purpose, pressed high up the pitch and routinely found the open man. Per ESPN FC's Tom Marshall, the win was Mexico's first in and against Canada since 1993.
Here's a look at the highlights from that match:
Manager Juan Carlos Osorio must have been thrilled with what he saw, but he still plans to make some changes for the return match. "We're going to make a number of changes against Canada," he said at a news conference on Monday. "These modifications to the team are owed to those players who deserve an opportunity."
That shouldn't come as much of a surprise. With their spot in the next round of qualification all but secured, Mexico can afford to experiment and learn more about their squad, which can only be a good thing in the long run. And as noted by CONCACAF's official Twitter account,Osorio seems to find ways to win, even when he changes things :
CONCACAF
Hector Herrera, Andres Guardado and Rafa Marquez dominated Canada in midfield, but the latter left the pitch at half-time due to an injury and won't feature on Tuesday, per Jon Arnold of Goal. It's a minor blow for El Tri, but given the wealth of talent Osorio has at his disposal, it shouldn't trouble the hosts too much.
Defensively, El Tri looked solid on Friday, although Canada's DavidHoilett and Cyle Larin were given far too much space on several occasions in the first half. Larin, in particular, will be one to keep an eye on, as the 20-year-old will be keen to show his fantastic MLS form can translate to
the international level.
Lozano was perhaps the biggest winner during Friday's contest, making a great impression on his official debut for Mexico, and his remarkable pace will once again be a big factor on Tuesday. Mexico have too much talent down the center of the pitch for the Canadians to shift their focus out wide, particularly with Hernandez playing some stunning football in 2015-16.
That means Lozano will once again go one-on-one with Canada's left-back, whether that's Marcel de Jong―who will have nightmares of their first encounter―or someone else.
As ESPN FC's Nayib Moran shared, Portuguese newspaper Recordclaims the youngster will be closely watched:
Nayib Morán
In Europe, Hirving “Chucky” Lozano is becoming a topic of discussion. Real Sociedad, Porto, Schalke, PSV…
