Federations for Mexico and the United States men’s national team have announced that the two teams will soon face off. The matchup is set to be played at Estadio Akron near Guadalajara on Oct. 15. It will be the first friendly between the rivals in Mexico in 12 years. The two teams have since scheduled six friendlies outside of CONCACAF competitions, but they were all played in the United States.
Along with the game against the USMNT, Mexico is also planning another fixture around the same timeframe. Reports south of the border claim that Mexico is set to face Valencia in a European friendly in October as well. The LaLiga club, along with every other team in the division, will be on an international break at the time.
Mexico is essentially opting to play a club because many other national teams will be busy in mid-October. World Cup qualifiers and Nations League fixtures fill the international soccer schedule during these two weeks. As a result, Mexico is getting creative on who they will soon face. Just like the match against the USMNT, Mexico will likely host Valencia at Estadio Akron.
While Mexico has European friendly, USMNT takes the easy way out
Although the Mexico-Valencia game has yet to be officially announced, U.S. Soccer should consider a similar move. The organization recently made headlines when they persuaded Mauricio Pochettino to be the next USMNT manager. The Argentine coach is certainly a popular pick for the job. However, he will have his hands full in making the Americans better.
One of the key areas of improvement for the USMNT is to schedule more challenging opponents. U.S. Soccer has been known to face off against lower-level teams, particularly at home, in recent years. The USMNT has not played a match outside of the country at all this year. By the time they play Mexico in Guadalajara, it will have been 11 months since they traveled away to a game.
Not only are they playing too many matches on home soil, but they…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/mexico-to-face-valencia-usa-needs-to-copy-mexicos-playbook/
Author : Chris Moore
Publish date : 2024-08-20 20:39:05
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