The two most recent CONCACAF Gold Cup champions will meet each other this Saturday to sort out who will be crowned as the region's ruler once again. The USMNT, 2013 Gold Cup champions, will host Mexico in what promises to be an excruciating match, which will be held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Both sides have struggled to find their form ever since the 2014 World Cup ended, and even if both teams possess the necessary weapons to deal with their opponents, their recent form may give fans a close and heavily disputed match.
USMNT
After a not-so-lucky display in the 2015 Gold Cup, where Klinsmann's side were demoted from winning the trophy to losing the third-place match against Panama, the Stars & Stripes will need the contributionfrom their best players, including Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley and Tim Howard. Regarding Dempsey, the Seattle Sounders man has scored 48 goals with the National team, but he hasn't been able to send one into the back of Mexico's net.
This was the USMNT's previous starting lineup. Which of these players will be left out by Klinsmann?
Klinsmann's experience will be key for this matchup, since he seems to have the antidote to defeat Mexico. The German coach has never lost a game against El Tri, whether it was as a player or as a coach. Since he took over the USMNT's coaching duties, "Klinsi" has never lost against El Tri, even winning one friendly match against Mexico at Azteca Stadium, while drawing one more in the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers. His overall record against El Tri reveals that the German legend has won six games and drawn four whenever he takes on Mexico's National Team.
El Tri
Mexico's team has lived a complicated year, which got really interesting when coach Miguel Herrera was sacked in July. After getting into an argument with a local journalist, "El Piojo" left Mexico's coaching seat, with Ricardo Ferretti taking his place for only four games. After a couple of draws against Trinidad & Tobago and Argentina, the Brazilian-born coach seems to be ready to face his biggest challenge as a manager. With the help of legendary center back Rafa Marquez, holding midfielder Andrés Guardado and Javier Hernández will be in charge of getting Mexico to the International tournament.
Although Ferretti has not said how his team will be starting, their most recent lineup looked like this.
This will be Ferretti's next to last game with Mexico, since Colombian coach Juan Carlos Osorio will be taking over the job for El Tri when the World Cup Qualifiers start next November. Can he go out with a bang?
Team sheets for USA vs Mexico - CONCACAF Cup
USA's lineup: Guzan; Johnson, Cameron, Besler, Beasley; Jones, Beckerman, Bradley (C), Zardes; Dempsey, Altidore.
Mexico's lineup: Muñoz, Aguilar, Reyes, Márquez, Moreno, Layún; Herrera, Guardado; Hernández, Peralta, Jiménez.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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