Mexico begins busy World Cup countdown with Coliseum friendly
The Mexican national team’s road to next summer’s World Cup in Russia is a long one that will feature several stops along the way. The first of those comes Saturday at the Coliseum, where Mexico meets Croatia (5 p.m., FS1, Univision, UDN) in a friendly that kicks off a busy two months in which El Tri could play as many as 17 games in three countries and on two continents.
Organizers say more than 60,000 tickets had been sold as of Friday.
The crowded schedule — which includes three friendlies, two World Cup qualifiers, next month’s Confederations Cup in Russia and the CONCACAF Gold Cup — forced Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio to call up an oversized roster, one he plans to split among the various competitions.
However, 10 of the 32 players Osorio selected are still playing with their club teams and won’t be in Los Angeles this weekend. Among those who made the trip are strikers Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez and Carlos Vela, who are less than a week removed from the final regular-season games with their European clubs, and defender Rafa Marquez, Mexico’s longtime captain.
As a result, Osorio said Friday, against a young Croatia team composed primarily of domestic players Mexico will use “players that are in the process of consolidating themselves with the national team and with some that are going to Confederations Cup.”
He expects to have a deeper team for next Thursday’s friendly with Ireland in East Rutherford, N.J. After that game, Osorio will cut his roster to 23 men for World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and the U.S. That same squad will make the trip to Russia for the eight-team Confederations Cup, an important World Cup dress rehearsal.
Osorio has lost only one of his first 20 games, the best start for a permanent Mexico coach since 1987. Still, his penchant for rotating players in and out of his lineup — he used a different set of starters in each of Mexico’s last four World Cup qualifiers — hasn’t been popular at home.
Hoy sports editor Eduard Cauich contributed to this report.
Follow Kevin Baxter on Twitter @kbaxter11
