For the first time in over 10 years, Mexico and Colombia will meet in an international friendly on Tuesday in a game that will take place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Over the weekend, a goal five minutes from the end enabled El Tri to capture a 1-0 victory over Peru, while Los Cafeteros managed a 4-1 win against a pesky side from Guatemala.
Match preview
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While far from convincing, Gerardo Martino saw his Mexicans get the job done on Saturday, capturing their first match since beating Suriname 3-0 in June.
The idea that less is more served them well this past weekend, as they only had one effort on target and scored, while they did not allow a single attempt on goal themselves.
Their triumph versus the Peruvians ended a winless run of over three years when facing South America teams and also a four-match goalless run against sides from the CONMEBOL region.
We have not seen much inventiveness from their midfielders, although they have plenty of international experience as four players alone (Orbelin Pineda, Edson Alvarez, Hector Herrera and Andres Guardado) have featured in nearly 400 games with El Tri.
While their quality at the moment is a far cry from what we have seen from the Mexicans in previous years, this group seem to hold it together when matches are close and the pressure is mounting, as 11 of their games in 2022 have been decided by a goal or fewer with Mexico losing only one of those encounters, 1-0 versus Paraguay.
El Tri were notorious for leaving their goals late during the final round of World Cup qualifying, as 11 of their 17 tallies came in the second half.
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Persistence pays off, and that was the case for Colombia on Saturday, as their relentless pressure against a passive Guatemalan side was eventually rewarded, enabling Nestor Lorenzo to begin his spell at the helm of La Tricolor on a winning note.
The 58-year-old former defender employed an aggressive 4-2-3-1 system with a heavy emphasis on high pressure and quick ball recoveries to generate attacking options.
It took 40 minutes for them to find a breakthrough against Guatemala, but in the end it was one of their more complete performances this year and also their highest tally in a single match since beating Japan 4-1 at the 2014 World Cup.
If there was one thing Colombia will be disappointed about from their performance on Saturday, it might be the 90th-minute goal that they conceded to Oscar Santis, the first one that this team had allowed since February.
Since the start of the new millennium, Los Cafeteros have only lost two of their 10 matches played versus the Mexicans, winning the previous encounter against them 2-0 in 2012.
Team News
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Hirving Lozano scored his 16th goal for Mexico on Saturday, with Cesar Montes collecting an assist on that play, while Guillermo Ochoa collected another clean sheet and has a chance on Tuesday to become the most capped goalkeeper in Mexican history, currently tied with Jorge Campos at 130.
Andres Guardado will draw even with Claudio Suarez for the most all-time appearances with the national team if he features against Colombia, while Hector Moreno surpassed Carlos Salcedo in international appearances this past weekend, collecting cap number 125.
The joint sixth-highest scorer in Mexican history, Raul Jimenez, did not see the field against Peru, nor did Rogelio Funes Mori.
Uriel Antuna made his seventh appearance for the senior side last weekend, replacing Roberto Alvarado just past the hour mark.
James Rodriguez notched his 25th international goal for Colombia over the weekend, moving into a tie for second all-time alongside Arnoldo Iguaran and 10 behind current captain Radamel Falcao, who has not scored for the national team since October 2020.
Leeds United striker Luis Sinisterra and Yaser Asprilla each notched their first international goals on Saturday, Andres Llinas picked his second cap for the Colombians, while Jorge Carrascal featured for the first time.
Falcao and Juan Cuadrado each scored in their previous encounter against Mexico, when goalkeeper David Ospina collected a clean sheet.
The 34-year-old Juventus midfielder surpassed Carlos Valderrama for second in career caps on Saturday and is currently 13 behind the all-time leader, Ospina.
Mexico possible starting lineup:
Ochoa; K. Alvarez, Araujo, Moreno, Gallardo; Lainez, Herrera, Beltran; Vega, Martin, Gimenez
Colombia possible starting lineup:
Ospina; Fabra, Sanchez, Llinas, Munoz; Uribe, Alzate; Diaz, Rodriguez, Asprilla; Falcao
We say: Mexico 0-2 Colombia
There is a load of experience on both sides, but the Colombians seem to be in better form at the moment, while Mexico have not looked comfortable or creative when on the ball in recent outings.
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