The Mexico vs Canada Gold Cup 2013 match will take place on Thursday, July 11 (8:00 PM Pacific) at the CenturyLink Field in Seattle. Both teams lost their first match and are in dire need of points, a loss would make the possibility of playing in the quarterfinals quite small. Mexico, once regarded as the undisputed leader of CONCACAF, is facing immense pressure to pull off a positive result against Canada.
Mexico continues its struggles under the reigns of coach Chepo de la Torre. Issues which have resulted in a series of embarrassing draws in the Hexagonal, a forgetful appearance in the Confederations Cup (2 losses and 1 meaningless win), and a historic loss against Panama this past Sunday.
Although the roster used for the Gold Cup is quite different from the one used in the Hexagonal matches and the Confederations Cup, the negative results have persisted. This version of the Mexican squad lost its two friendly matches prior to the Gold Cup against Cruz Azul Hidalgo (yikes!) and Queretaro. Of course, the team then followed that up with the awful 2-1 loss against Panama, marking the first time Panama defeats Mexico in the Gold Cup.
Mexico has no other option than to defeat Canada, a draw or loss would be absolutely devastating, specially considering Canada’s weak roster. Canada brought in a squad with many unproven youngsters, hoping to give valuable experience to the players who will likely represent Canada in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup. This Canadian squad lost against Martinique 1-0, a Caribbean squad that is not part of FIFA and has players that mostly play in the semi-professional Martinique league.
If Mexico is not able to defeat a Canadian squad that lost against Martinique, you can expect the Mexican media and fans to go ballistic. Everyone would be calling for the firing of Chepo de la Torre, Hector Gonzalez Iñárritu (Director of Mexico’s National Squads), and a complete revamp of El Tri. However, Canada had such a woeful display against Martinique, that even this weak version of the Mexican National Team should be able to win.
Mexico vs Canada Prediction
The Mexico vs Canada match will be a tight encounter; Mexico is in a terrible slump, and Canada will have the support of its fans (the Vancouver to Seattle drive is about 2 hours). Mexico has shown no signs of improving its play, however, they have a huge advantage in raw talent over the somewhat limited Canadian squad. Mexico will come out with the victory, but it will not be pretty.
The Mexico vs Canada match will end in a 2-1 victory for Mexico, which will gets its first three points of the tournament, and essentially guarantee a spot in the quarterfinals. If Mexico somehow fails to win, and ends with a draw, or a loss, Chepo de la Torre should resign immediately, before even leaving the pitch. However, I have confidence that the Mexican players will find the professionalism within themselves to pull off a victory that just a year ago would have been an almost automatic win.
Mexico vs Canada 2013 Television
The Mexico vs Canada match will be televised on Unimas and Fox Soccer Channel on Thursday, July 11, 2013 at 8:00 PM Pacific.
