The only national team on earth that can make lots of money by playing every single home game in the country of their biggest rival is back at it on Wednesday. Mexico should have a distinct home-field advantage when they take on the Ivory Coast just outside of New York at MetLife Stadium.
Mexico vs. Ivory Coast: Preview and TV schedule
The Ivory Coast and Mexico have both called up squads with a mix of youth and experience, looking set to experiment in their friendly.
‘Chepo’ Jose Manuel de la Torre has called in a mix of players from his Confederations Cup and Gold Cup squads, plus a couple of new faces. Uncapped Cruz Azul star Christian Gimenez and only once-capped Tigres star Damian Alvarez, both naturalized Argentinians, have both been called into the squad. Lucas Lobos, perhaps the country’s most popular and most in-form naturalized Argentinian, was surprisingly left off the team.
European-based stars Guillermo Ochoa, Hector Herrera, Andres Guardado and Javier Aquino were all left with their clubs, but Hector Moreno, Diego Reyes and Giovani dos Santos were called in for Wednesday's game. Javier Hernandez will miss the match due to injury. Even with five of his best players out, though, Chepo couldn't find a spot for any new domestic-based youngsters.
The Ivory Coast have called in a number of stars, but have also taken the opportunity to call up four uncapped players and five more players with fewer than five caps. Yaya Toure was called up to the squad, but is not expected to play.
Match date/time: Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET
Venue: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
TV: ESPN2 (U.S. - English), Univision Deportes (U.S. - Spanish)
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