El Tri's Castro: We're Here To Have Fun

Israel Castro, who could make his Gold Cup debut for Mexico on Sunday, told Mural that El Tri comes into the tournament with a lot of optimism. They will come into the tournament seeking the title and will start their run against Nicaragua on Sunday.

"We came here to do our best, we came to give it our all, to generate good things and to have fun. This is something that we like and if we don't have fun then we will probably not do things right," Castro said.

More than just have fun the Mexican national team came to win the title, although many critics think otherwise.

"We came here to win the Gold Cup. We are not thinking of anything else, not even the friendly games. We came focused for this," he said. "We're hopeful and we want to enjoy it as much as possible, that's why we came here."

The criticism has been raining down on Mexico for quite a while now. In much of Mexico the press made the hideous result against Guatemala the top news instead of Brazil's come-from-behind win over the US in the Confederations Cup final. The Pumas midfielder, though, said that the criticism the national team has received from the media is not hurtful.

"That doesn't hurt my pride. I try to put things on the table, I try to take the good and focus on it the best way possible," admitted Castro. "I am really happy to be here and to be a part of the national team. I want to give it my all because I see a strong group and if we get on the same page then I know we can lift the cup."

Not only has El Tri received criticism from the media but from their fans as well. They were booed off the field following their friendly against Guatemala. Defender Jonny Magallon, however, said that the Tri aficionados must keep the faith because they will do everything possible for a positive outcome.

"The team looks good and we are calm," said Magallon. " We know that there's been a negative assessment about the team, but we also know that it is always going to be like that. There will always be good and bad observations and a lot of different point of views. What I can say to the fan is to keep believing in us, we need them to confide in us for we will do everything possible I am sure it will go well. We will get the right results so that we can finally convince the fans that they do have a great team."

El Tri will face Nicaragua in Oakland, California. Although Nicaragua is the worst ranked team in the tournament, Magallon knows this will be no walk in the park.

"We know it's not going to be easy, it might look simple to you but it really isn't. It's 11 players against another 11 players and that is always a tough task. It is even tougher when your opponent is happy with defending with a 4-4-1 formation."

Magallon insisted that the team is compromised in resurrecting Mexico in the International ranks. El Tri dropped again and this time 7 spots down. They currently sit as 33rd best team in the world in the FIFA ranking table. With another Gold Cup title the Mexican's stock would go up but the worries wouldn't necessarily be over.

Sylvestre Adame, Goal.com

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