Mexico had a sluggish performance on Saturday and finish off their FIFA date with another friendly tonight against Paraguay. It is nearly a brand new starting XI with Diego Reyes as the only hold over. Injuries forced Piojo’s hand but this should be a good look at the base of the Copa America team.
It is about that time again. Its time for some friendlies! I know many people say friendlies don’t mean anything but I believe they can be valuable. No, I’m not talking about wins or losses. I would much rather lose 1-0 and play well than win 1-0 and play like crap. I am talking about how the team plays in those games. With a busy summer approaching, there are a few things I will keep an eye on during the game against Ecuador on Saturday
Raul Jimenez picked up a rare start this past weekend for Cholo’s Atletico Madrid. I went back and watched this match with the intention of logging every time he did anything. I was pleasantly surprised with how active he was in his 64 minutes of action. He seemed to understand what was expected of him and worked well with Fernando Torres. After re-watching the match, I feel a little more at ease with where he is in his development. Scroll on for my notes and some videos.
Piojo’s Callups
As most predicted, the list for March’s friendlies is out. Most of the list has the same players Piojo has called in the past. This is usually where I breakdown his list but I am more interested in the U23 list for the Brasil friendly later this month. I’ll wait until that leaks out to dissect both. For now, let us enjoy this Weeekend’s Schedule.
@FutMexSource with a nice graphic showing called up Europeos
The Federation has released their list of foreign based players getting called up. I am sure this week will see the final list come out. There aren’t any must see games this week that stand out to me but plenty of solid match ups.
While catching up on all the Copa Mexico action via Twitter, I saw a name of a player I hadn’t thought of in a while. Edgar Ivan Pacheco. I got me thinking..
#TheReturn ?
The call up list is bound to spring some leaks this upcoming week. Until then, let’s see who is playing when this weekend.
