Mexico is traveling to Queretaro to face Chile in front of a sold-out crowd at the Estadio Corregidora.
El Tri notched a 3-2 win over Costa Rica last week, their first victory since the World Cup.
While Pachuca midfielder Victor Guzman was among the stars in that match, the second game of the friendly window will see PSV winger Hirving Lozano, Wolves forward Raul Jimenez and other Europe-based stars play a bigger role than they did against the Ticos.
Chile, meanwhile, is coming off a 3-0 defeat to Peru but a reinforcement is arriving that coach Reinaldo Rueda hopes can give his team a competitive edge.
Game | Mexico vs Chile |
Date | Tuesday, October 16 |
Time | 9:45 p.m. ET |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States, the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
US TV channel | Online stream |
---|---|
Univision Deportes Network | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
Squads & Team News
Position | Mexico players |
---|---|
Goalkeepers | Gonzalez, Gudino, Lajud |
Defenders | Reyes, Araujo, Gallardo, Alvarez, Rodriguez, Angulo, Arteaga, Van Rankin, Aguirre |
Midfielders | Fabian, Duenas, Damm, Guemez, Gutierrez, Brizuela, Alvarado, Gonzalez, Guzman |
Forwards | Jimenez, Corona, Lozano, Zaldivar, Martin |
Ferretti said he'd use one group against Costa Rica last week and another for Tuesday's game, sending home players he didn't need any more. That turned out to be nobody, with the Europe-based players kept fresh ahead of a match against a strong Chile team.
Left-back Jesus Gallardo and midfielders Jonathan Gonzalez and Javier Guemez are all eligible for the game after joining the Mexico camp only the day before Thursday's match.
Mexico Starting XI: Gonzalez; Rodriguez, Araujo, Reyes, Gallardo; Gutierrez, Guemez; Corona, Fabian, Lozano; Jimenez
Position | Chile players |
---|---|
Goalkeepers | Cortes, De Paul, Vigouroux |
Defenders | Medel, Isla, Mena, Roco, Diaz, Maripan, Lichnovsky, Parot |
Midfielders | Vidal, Fernandez, Gutierrez, Pulgar, Reyes, Valdes, Davila |
Forwards | Sanchez, Castillo, Fernandes, Sagal, Henriquez, Jeraldino |
Visa issues kept Alexis Sanchez from joining up with the Chile team in Miami, but he is set to take part in Tuesday's encounter in Mexico.
Six Chileans on the squad currently play in Liga MX, with several other players, like Nicolas Castillo and Angelo Henriquez, having played in Mexico in the past. However, the likely starting lineup doesn't feature many of those players. Captain Gary Medel had a tough match against Peru and trained apart from the main group during the week, but still gets the start against El Tri.
Potential Chile XI: Cortes; Isla, Roco, Maripan, Parot; Vidal, Medel, Valdes; Sanchez, Sagal, Fernandes
Match Preview
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Mexico and Chile meet Tuesday for the first time since La Roja's 7-0 dismantling of El Tri in the 2016 Copa America Centenario quarterfinals.
Plenty has changed since then, though. Mexico has an interim coach after Juan Carlos Osorio's departure after the 2018 World Cup.
Chile didn't even make it to Russia, with respected Colombian manager Reinaldo Rueda now in the hot seat after Juan Antonio Pizzi missed out on qualification. His tenure has gotten off to a rocky start with two wins, three draws and two losses. That includes a 3-0 thumping by Peru in Miami last week with the same squad that will be in this game.
However, Rueda will be quick to point out that Peru took advantage in the second half, after many changes were made, and he wasn't able to call upon Manchester United attacker Alexis Sanchez because of visa issues.
El Tri interim Tuca Ferretti didn't need to utilize too many of his European players as Mexico rallied for a 3-2 win over regional rival Costa Rica last week. The Ticos scored first and then retook the lead thanks to a Bryan Ruiz penalty, but America forward Henry Martin and Wolves star Raul Jimenez scored in the second half to lock up the win.
Jimenez and Porto winger Jesus "Tecatito" Corona were the only Europe-based players who featured with Ferretti set to pair Nestor Araujo and Diego Reyes together in defense against Chile and use PSV winger Hirving Lozano and his club teammate midfielder Erick Gutierrez to go after the Chile defense.
It's clear which match Ferretti has put a priority on. Now it will be up to the biggest stars he has available to nab a second consecutive victory and continue building toward the future.