Mexico starts its Gold Cup journey against a rival that looks pretty easy on paper, Cuba. The game will take place at the Soldier Field in Chicago, a city well known for having a high Hispanic population, so a sold-out show is almost guaranteed.
El Tri has played Cuba eight times and they have won every single game. The last time they played, Mexico won 5-0 in the 2011 Gold Cup, when they were leading only 1-0 at halftime. The team would go on and win the tournament that same year.
Mexico suffered the loss of Hector Moreno and Javier Hernandez in the games leading up to this tournament. Their absences are not easy to be replaced, but the depth in Mexico's roster should be enough to deal with Cuba.
Miguel Herrera feels really confident about this one as he already gave away his lineup over 48 hours before the game. El Piojo will replace Javier Hernandez with Oribe Peralta. Their skill level is a bit different, but he mostly wants someone to play alongside Carlos Vela, who is expected to make 2015 his year with El Tri.
The two Dos Santos brothers, Jonathan and Giovanni will not get the chance to start together, at least for this game. It is Jonathan who will take the spot of Carlos Esquivel. Seven of the players that will star the game for Mexico play in European clubs and only Vela was not part of the 2014 World Cup roster.
Cuba knows they are the clear underdog for this game and probably every other game they have. They may like to see themselves as a team like Haiti, that came into their game without a chance and ended up scoring one goal that gave them a point in their Gold Cup opener.
Two days before the game, the whole team was not practicing together in Chicago, and the whole roster is expected to finally be complete by Thursday, the day of the game. Not even the coach Raul Gonzalez was at their Tuesday practice.
The team is ranked 107th in the FIFA World Rankings and is known for having their players disappear during the tournament. They usually end up looking for places to stay in America rather than going back home to a communist coutry.
In their Gold Cup Opener, most of their players are motivated by getting a chance to play against the quality of players that Mexico brings to this game. Midfielder Yenier Marquez is the most experienced player in their roster with 115 caps for the national team. Ariel Martinez and Alberto Lopez combine for 82 games with Cuba.
GOLD CUP: Team sheets for Mexico vs Cuba
Mexico's Starting XI: Ochoa, Paul Aguilar, Rodríguez, Reyes, Layún; Herrera, J. Dos Santos, Vázquez, Guardado, Vela, Peralta.
Cuba's Starting XI: D. Guerra, Márquez, Clavelo, Nápoles, Corrales, Dranguet, López, Gómez, Martínez, F. Guerra, Coroneaux
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