Mexico and Guatemala refine details for the Concacaf tournaments | Video

The Mexican Soccer Team, without his star squad, will receive this Wednesday Guatemalafriendly preparation match for the Concacaf Nations League Semifinals in which the Tricolor will face the United States on June 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The duel will be the debut of the Mexican representative in the Kraken Stadium, home of Mazatlán FC of Liga MX, and it will be the match 37 between both countries, a rivalry that dominates the national team with 23 wins, four losses and nine draws.

It will be the fourth game in the process of the Argentine coach Diego Cocca (1 win, two draws), who became national coach last February by replacing his compatriot Gerardo Martino, after the failure in World Cup Qatar 2022.

In the last World Cup, Mexico fell in the group stage and ended a streak of seven consecutive World Cups by qualifying for the second round.

The result caused changes in local football, including the departure of the president of the federation, yon de Luisa, and the change of coach; however, none of these actions ended with criticism from fans and the media.

Thus, Cocca has his first two opportunities to give credit to his management this summer since it will not only look for the Nations League titlebut from June 25 will play the Gold Cup.

The Argentine coach will have his penultimate test for the summer against Guatemala, duel that will face without most of its main draw, but in which he will test elements such as goalkeepers Luis Angel Malagonfrom America, and Carlos Acevedo, from Santos Laguna, who are fighting to be the holders of their scheme together with Guillermo Ochoafrom the Italian Salernitana, who will join the roster in the League of Nations.

In addition, look for a new couple of center-backs. Israel Reyes, of America, and Victor Guzman, from Monterrey, they will use the Guatemala showcase to win that position. The player with the most hierarchy that will be against the Central Americans is Raul Jimenez, English Wolverhampton striker.

While Guatemala will use Mexico to prepare for the Gold Cup, in which they will be Group D that they share with Canada, Cuba and a selection that will come to the preliminary rounds.

The Guatemalans began a new project in 2021 at the hands of the Mexican coach Luis Fernando Tena, who in 2012 guided Mexico to obtain the gold medal at the London Olympics.

Tena's project achieved its first revenues by obtaining the direct qualification to the Gold Cup and now he gets like he fights for a ticket to the World Cup 2026 that will be organized by Mexico, Canada and the United States.

FOCUSED ON THE MEETING AGAINST MEXICO!#SeleMayor He carried out his first training session of the day at the facilities of the High Performance Center -CAR- to refine the last details prior to his trip to Mexico where he will face the Aztec National Team. 💪🇬🇹💙⚽️#VamosGuate #VamosSele pic.twitter.com/gA1pvP6X7n

– FEDEFUT GUATEMALA (@fedefut_oficial) June 5, 2023

Tena's brand with Guatemala is nine wins, two draws and five losses.

Before Mexico, The Skinny Tena has a roster with most of its elements from the local league and some abroad such as Nicholas Hagen, Norwegian Hamarkameratene goalkeeper and one of the team leaders.

File
Friendly
Mexico vs. Guatemala
Stadium: Kraken
Headquarters: Mazatlan
Referee: Nelson Salgado (Honduras)
Hours: 8:00 p.m., Central Mexico time

Probable lineups:
Mexico
Luis Angel Malagon
Jesus Gallardo
Israel Reyes
Victor Guzman
Kevin Alvarez
Luis Chavez
Eric Sanchez
Robert Alvarado
Uriel Antuna
Raul Jimenez
Diego Laínez
DT: Diego Cocca

Guatemala
Nicholas Hagen
Jose Morales
Jose Carlos Pinto
Nicholas Samayoa
Jose Augustin Ardon
Oscar Castellanos
Rodrigo Saravia
Alexander Galindo
Cesar Archila
Oscar Santis
Jose Franco
DT: Luis Fernando Tena

(With information from EFE)