Two national teams qualified for the Qatar 2022 World Cup and three that did not reach the necessary points will be the teams that will face Mexico in their preparation period before facing their first rival from group C, Poland.
The duels against Guatemala, Nigeria, Uruguay, Ecuador and Paraguay will be played between April and August in the United States, under the organization of the MexTour tour in stadiums in Orlando, Dallas, Phoenix, Chicago and Atlanta.
To this series of Tricolor matches it should be added that in June there will be activity with official duels in the Concacaf Nations League against Suriname and Jamaica.
Approximately 36 million Mexicans reside in the United States, with the epicenter of some territories where the tour will pass: California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado. According to a study carried out in 2020, the Tricolor has more than 60 million fans in that country and, in the last decade, an average of 60,000 attend per game.
The Uruguayans and Ecuadorians did qualify for Qatar 2022, while the Guatemalans, Nigerians and Paraguayans did not. Uruguay, guided by coach Diego Alonso (former of Pachuca and Monterrey), is preparing for the rivals of Group H: Portugal, South Korea and Ghana, while Ecuador, led by coach Gustavo Alfaro, will share Group A with the host, with the Netherlands and Senegal.
“The fact of facing a South American power like Uruguay will be very important. They had a fantastic qualifying round, added to the individualities they have, this makes them a high-ranking rival. They may have similarities as the rival that touches us in the World Cup, Argentina”, said the Tri coach, Gerardo Martino, after the announcement.
From the confederations of Asia and Europe, where the other teams that will be rivals of Mexico in the World Cup (Saudi Arabia and Poland) belong, they were not considered opponents for more preparation commitments.
“In the summer we are going to have to make a more extended call than usual, taking into account not only the tour (through the United States), but also the start of the Nations League. We will have the chance to see more footballers”, added ‘Tata’ Martino.
Mexico sealed its direct ticket to the World Cup with its 2-0 win over El Salvador in the fourteenth and final round of the Concacaf Octagonal played at the Azteca Stadium, where it finished in second place with 28 points.
“We’ve had a good tie in terms of points, but this summer is a good time to recover feelings and level of play. We have to recover the level we had in the first years, play well, this is better if it is done with the results. We haven’t played well in recent months, but we’ve got the results,” said the Argentine coach.