Argentina take on Mexico in a friendly at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on Tuesday. Unlike the European nations, who have been busy trying to qualify for Euro 2016 over the past week, the American ones have been left kicking their heels and playing meaningless fixtures. Neither of these sides will play another competitive match until next month, when South America’s World Cup qualifying starts, and Mexico take on the United States in a Confederations Cup playoff.
Mexico vs. Argentina 2015: Time, TV schedule and team news
Mexico will have to improve on their draw with Trinidad and Tobago if they’re to test Argentina on Tuesday.
Patrick Smith/Getty Images
However, Argentina are already looking in some pretty good shape, with Ezequiel Lavezzi, Sergio Agüero and Lionel Messi all scoring braces in a 7-0 win over Bolivia in Houston on the weekend. Mexico are looking a little rustier under interim coach Ricardo Ferretti, and in their most recent fixture they had to come from behind twice in a 3-3 draw with Trinidad and Tobago. They’re not a bad team, but in this shape they’re certainly going to find life difficult on Tuesday.
When they last met
This game may be meaningless, but that certainly wasn’t the case when these sides last met in the first knockout round of the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg. In that match, Argentina took the lead midway through the first half courtesy of a clearly offside Carlos Tevez goal, and Mexico never managed to recover. Gonzalo Higuaín netted a swift second and Tevez added a third early in the second half, with Javier Hernández’s late strike nothing more than a consolation in a 3-1 defeat.
Key player: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
It's an obvious choice, but as long as Lionel Messi is a professional footballer, he's going to be Argentina's one to watch. The Barcelona attacker is sublime with the ball at his feet, and is so skillful and intelligent in his style of play that it's difficult to see him declining any time soon. If he starts this match, he could well turn a shaky Mexico defence into mush.
Match Date/Time: Tuesday, 10:30 p.m. ET, 9:30 p.m. local
Venue: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, United States
TV: ESPN2 (U.S. - Spanish), UniMás, Univision Deportes (U.S. - Spanish), Canal 5 Televisa, TDN, TyC Sports Internacional, Azteca 7 (Mexico)
Online: Watch ESPN (U.S.)
See More:
