After a disastrous 2021, El Tri is looking to reboot and continue its quest of classifying to their 8th straight World Cup. 

With more than half of the World Cup Qualifying already played, Mexico has little room for error, and gathering points is of the essence during these next 3 games.

The current standings see Canada (16 points) and the United States (15 points) jockeying for the number one spot. The two North American nations will face one another in Canada on January 30th. Meanwhile, Mexico and Panama share the same amount of points (14 points) but due to goal difference, the Mexicans currently hold third place. 

Only the nations in the first 3 positions receive a guaranteed spot in the World Cup, while the fourth-placed team will have to face off against the winner of the Oceania qualifiers in an inter-confederation play-off.

El Tri will have 3 matches during this FIFA window. The first game will see them traveling to Kingston to face off against Jamaica on January 27. Mexico will then host Costa Rica on January 30 and then Panama on February 2 at the Azteca.

While World Cup qualifying can be very forgiving in CONCACAF, Mexico’s head coach Tata Martino will be under more pressure than ever before to not only get positive results but to showcase a good product on the field. 

Here are the three things to look for when Mexico takes the field next week:

Will Tata Martino give a chance to the young players?

After suffering humiliating back-to-back losses to the USA and Canada, Mexico fans demanded change from Tata Martino and his staff. In December, Mexico faced off against Chile during a non-FIFA date and Martino decided to call up young players and National Team alternates to see if he could find players he could incorporate into the first squad. Blue-chip prospects such as LA Galaxy’s Julian Araujo, Arsenal’s Marcelo Flores, and Santos Laguna’s keeper Carlos Acevedo were given a chance to shine under the watch of Martino. 

🚨 FIRST ROSTER OF THE YEAR 🚨

HC Gerardo Martino has chosen his players for the Concacaf Qualifiers matches 🆚 🇯🇲, 🇨🇷 & 🇵🇦. 👀👤🇲🇽#HechoDeLosMexicanos | #FMFporNuestroFútbol pic.twitter.com/K6VpjCT1su

— Mexican National Team (@miseleccionmxEN) January 21, 2022

Unfortunately for fans, out of the 30 players called up for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, the only players to return from the match in December were Julian Alvarez and Cruz Azul’s Uriel Antuna. There are some returning young players that can make a difference such as Gerardo Arteaga, who was rumored to be vetoed by Martino due to declining invitations to participate in the Gold Cup and the Olympics. Diego Lainez is also a name that is returning that will get fans excited. Fans will be assessing his current form as he has not been able to crack into the starting rotation with Real Betis. 

Since Mexico has failed to win a game since October, many will call for Martino to be replaced if the negative results continue. Will “El Tata” rely on his usual core who did yield positive results in 2021 or will he trust Mexico’s next generation of players to execute in the toughest of stages?

Who will helm the backline?

To call Mexico’s defense porous last year would be an understatement. During the last 4 games of 2021, (2 friendlies, 2 qualifiers) Mexico gave up a total of 9 goals. Tata Martino’s reliance on players that have continued to make mistakes on defense and have not performed up to National Team standards has befuddled fans and pundits alike.

Thankfully for them, Martino has called up a new crop of defenders for this window such as the aforementioned Gerardo Arteaga and Julian Araujo, as well as Leon’s Osvaldo Rodriguez. Players such as Chaka Rodriguez, Jesus Gallardo, and Jorge Sanchez have locked down their positions on the back wings but giving an opportunity to any of the new call-ups could provide a much needed spark for Mexico’s defense.

When it comes to the center-backs, Mexico will see the return of Monterrey’s duo of Cesar Montes and Hector Moreno. Both were sorely needed against the USA and Canada but were absent due to last-minute injuries. During those games, Martino implemented a backline of Genoa’s Johan Vasquez and Cata Dominguez of Cruz Azul, and against Canada added Celta De Vigo’s, Nestor Araujo. But as the results showed, the trio was unable to keep Mexico afloat.

Vasquez will most likely be the one to continue on as a starter due to his great play in Italy with either Moreno or Montes joining him. It wouldn’t be surprising to see either Nestor Araujo or Dominguez start in at least one of the game as Tata Martino has made a habit of rotating his center backs often.

Will the lack of fans in the crowd affect Mexico?

It’s the story that just won’t go away and with due cause. The Mexican Federation’s inability to control the homophobic chant used by Mexican fans continues to plague stadiums and FIFA is coming down hard with hefty fines and forcing Mexico to play behind closed doors. 

Recently, the president of Mexico’s Football Federation, Yon de Luisa, unveiled a new plan to eradicate the chant that includes five-year bans from stadiums, heightened security at games, and a mandatory online registration to purchase tickets and have accountability for fans.

Mexico was initially scheduled to play their two home games against Costa Rica and Panama without fans but after filing an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sports, the two-match ban was repealed. Capacity will be limited to 2,000 for the coming matches in order to test the new measures. 

With Covid cases on the rise and these new fan measures being implemented, will the Mexico players miss the support of the fans in the cavernous Estadio Azteca? We will find out this week.

Be sure to tune in Thursday at 9 pm E.T./6pm E.T. for the latest episode of El Mexican Soccer Podcast, as we bring you live postgame reaction and analysis of Mexico’s World Cup Qualifier against Jamaica, with special guest “The Soccer O.G.” Max Bretos!

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El Tri Online was founded in December 2017 to serve English-speaking fans of Mexican Soccer. Our mission is to create compelling Mexican soccer content and share it via our website, streaming apps, social media, and any other medium for English-dominant Mexican-American fans of the Mexican National Team, Liga MX, and their players.

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