Mexico's road to a second consecutive Gold Cup title begins in earnest tonight as they square off against Guatemala in the quarterfinals at New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Sure, they've already played three group stage matches, but they were never going to be tested there. The knockout stages are the real test for El Tri.
Mexico Vs. Guatemala, 2011 Gold Cup: Lineups
As simple as the group stage might be for a team like Mexico, they sure impressed anyways. They were utterly dominant. Javier Hernandez was deadly in front of a three-man attacking midfield of Giovazno dos Santos, Pablo Barrera and Andres Guardado that is as dynamic as CONCACAF has seen in a long time. Their lone weakness, defense, was barely tested and when they were they performed well.
In today’s quarterfinal they are going with the lineup everyone expects of them. Their bench is still only made up fo six because they have yet to replace any of the five players suspended for a positive doping test, but in the starting XI, it is strong. They will have to contend with the dangerous Marco Pappa though and Carlos Ruiz still has the ability to score a goal from nowhere or draw a penalty in no way deserved so there is a slight chance for Guatemala to pull the upset, but it is very, very slight.
Mexico: Alfredo Talavera; Carlos Salcido, Rafa Marquez, Hector Moreno, Efrain Juárez; Israel Castro, Gerardo Torrado; Andres Guardado, Giovani dos Santos, Pablo Barrera; Javier Hernandez
Guatemala: Ricardo Jerez, Gustavo Cabrera, Carlos Gallardo, Cristian Noriega, Elias Vasquez, Wilfred, Velasquez, Marco Pappa, Jonathan Lopez, Jose Del Aguila, Carlos Ruiz, Jairo Arreola
For more on the 2011 Gold Cup (Copa Oro), the Mexico vs. Guatemala match, and Mexican football in general, check out SB Nation’s Mexican football blog FMF State of Mind.
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