Snak

Competition fierce for remaining Mexico roster spots

Is anybody else anxious? It has been more than a month since El Tri´s last game and I feel as if I´m still recovering from the potent blend of elation, stress, and perhaps tequila.

Yes, discussion and analysis about friendlies can at times be comically excessive and contrived, but this one is actually significant. El Tri´s match Wednesday against Nigeria will be their only one that falls on a FIFA-date before the World Cup. What this means for Miguel "Piojo" Herrera and company is that this will be the only opportunity to watch the assimilation of the "Europeos" with the domestic Liga MX players.

The match against South Korea was undoubtedly an experimental one for Herrera and he will need to soon find his ideal starting 11 before the trip to Brazil. Mexico have a long list of excellent players in Europe and in the Liga MX, but that has never been the discernible issue. Since early last year, the problem has been finding the right combination of players in order to create a cohesive group that is not only a talented unit, but a motivated and confident one as well.

There are only a few positions on the starting 11 that seem to be already set, so Wednesday´s match will provide crucial insight into some of the spots that are still up for grabs. While it can be argued that every spot is significant, I decided to focus on five that should be noteworthy and interesting to watch.

Goalkeeper

In a World Cup qualifying year that was filled with disastrous results and terrible performances, Jose de Jesus Corona was one of the unsung heroes for the Mexican national team. Corona has had a favorable season with Cruz Azul and will look to bring his consistency once again to the international stage. The starting position appears to be his to lose and he will need to maintain that consistency, with multiple backups vying for an opportunity.

Over in France, Guillermo Ochoa is recognized as one of the better goalkeepers in Ligue 1. However, his performances for Mexico have not convinced the national team staff or even the public recently. There is no denying his talent, but he still will have plenty of pressure to impress Herrera on Wednesday and to also prove his critics wrong.

Moises Munoz is another option, but recent media rumors are skeptical on whether he will have much playing time against Nigeria. Munoz´s experience with a Club America-heavy defense, along with his familiarity with Herrera, are all positives and almost seem to guarantee him a spot on the final roster for Brazil.

Ochoa deserves a chance and it´s unfortunate he may not be given more than 45 minutes to prove his worth for the summer. Then again, Corona has been close to immaculate for Mexico and removing him from the starting 11 might not be the best idea. To me, the battle for the top goalkeeper is between those two players. It´s hard to decide who is better.

Central defender

Although Hector Moreno and Rafa Marquez are a certainty for the middle of the defense, there is still one spot alongside them that can be contested. Diego Reyes appears to be a strong candidate on paper but also has plenty to prove. His lack of playing time for the senior Porto team as well as an unconvincing performance against South Korea does not bode well. Yet there is no doubt that the 21-year-old has the potential to be one of Mexico´s best in the future. Given time, Reyes will more than likely become an exceptional player. Whether he becomes that player before this summer is another question.

Francisco "Maza" Rodriguez is one of the more seasoned veterans on the squad who unfortunately sometimes doesn´t act like one. His propensity for unnecessary fouls is worrying and his lack of pace is also becoming more apparent with every match. Rodriguez will need to win many skeptics over with a solid appearance because it appears that the only thing keeping him relevant to the national team is his experience with Herrera.

Juan Carlos "Topo" Valenzuela also has the benefit of familiarity with Herrera but doesn´t seem to be at the type of level that is sufficient for a national team. Valenzuela, along with Rodriguez, have looked vulnerable in the back for America and have had to deal with much criticism going into this upcoming match. The criticism of Valenzuela, along with his association of scoring an own goal versus Finland in October, will be detrimental to his self-esteem and provide an even more difficult challenge for him to overcome.

Enrique Perez is a surprise addition to the roster, but with Herrera sculpting his idea of a starting 11 soon, I can´t see Perez getting much playing time.

Reyes appears to be the best choice as an addition to Marquez and Moreno, but it still a slightly risky move after seeing some of his underwhelming performances for the national team. Rodriguez brings in experience, but with Moreno receiving an unexpected amount of yellows for Espanyol this season, you could have a dream team of avoidable fouls with Rodriguez, Marquez and Moreno in the back. Valenzuela is honestly not national-team quality, and Perez is untested.

Left defender/Left wing-back

Wednesday´s match will be more important for Andres Guardado than anybody else on the roster. With subpar performances for Bayer Leverkusen and a dismal showing for almost every qualifying game last year, Guardado will need to shine for Mexico. His days in Europe appear numbered and a good performance in Atlanta is the type of catalyst that his career currently needs. Although he has typically played more as a midfield player in the past, a place in the back line would be better suited at this point. Also, there is no chance he would get any playing time with the competition in the midfield.

Miguel Ponce was one of the standout players in the friendly against South Korea last month and will look for a second opportunity to impress Herrera and the fans. His crosses and runs during that game were beneficial toward the attack and he also did a decent job of tracking back as well.

Due to Miguel Layun´s injury, both Ponce and Guardado will have the opportunity to get time on the pitch on Wednesday. I unfortunately can´t help but assume that Guardado will once again let the fans down and potentially be left off the final World Cup roster. As for Ponce, a good performance could seal him in as a backup to Layun.

Central midfield/Holding midfield

Starting Juan Carlos Medina in the middle is equivalent to eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. Sure, it gets the job done, but you feel like you could have something much better. On every call-up, Medina has done very well in the middle and is a quiet workhorse as he runs up and down the middle as a defensive enforcer and as a distributor going forward. Yet there is something predictable about his playing style and that becomes a worry when you imagine him going up against Brazil or Croatia.

Jose Juan Vazquez received his first call-up last month and has an excellent chance to fight for a spot in the middle. Vazquez has done well for Leon this season but will need to have more of a presence in the middle for El Tri if he wants to take Medina’s spot.

Hector Herrera will more than likely play as one of the more attack-minded midfield players, but I personally think he would work very well as a holding midfielder. Herrera´s stamina and pace in the middle have been effective for Porto recently, and a partnership with Carlos Pena, Isaac Brizuela or Luis Montes would be exciting to watch.

Herrera seems happy with Medina and doesn´t appear to be looking at other holding midfield options other than Vazquez. I believe Herrera would be an outstanding player in the middle and hope he eventually gets an opportunity to play with some of the other agile attackers.

Striker

Chicharito Hernandez, who has become almost synonymous with El Tri, is in serious need of a great game. The striker has had more Flappy Bird-related Instagram photos last month than goals and is sinking deeper and deeper into the depth chart of Manchester United. Last year was a tough one for Hernandez with the national team, and a great game will give the "Little Pea" a vital boost in confidence.

Oribe Peralta was able to pick up the slack that Hernandez left during most of last year. Peralta has been on a great form for the national team recently and has even started to pick up his pace with Santos as well. The only worry is that Peralta has had almost “too much” playing time with Santos’ busy schedule and may not perform to his full potential Wednesday.

Due to Giovani dos Santos´ injury, Raul Jimenez was brought on as a last-minute option. Jimenez has all the makings of a great striker and his distribution ability makes him a more favorable sidekick for Peralta than Hernandez. Nobody will forget his remarkable bicycle kick against Panama last year, and the potential for daring goals such as that makes him a desirable prospect.

Alan Pulido set the bar massively high for himself after scoring a hat trick during his debut last month. Pulido is an intelligent attacking player who could somehow sneak onto the final roster. He will need to take advantage of any and every minute he is given if he wants to surpass Jimenez on the depth chart.

As of now, and also considering Dos Santos´ injury, a partnership between Peralta and Jimenez seems like the best possible option, with Jimenez and Pulido switching off. In my opinion, Hernandez is more talented than any other attacker, but his inability to work with another striker would not work very well with Herrera´s system.

Five things Herrera will be looking for vs. Nigeria

GUADALAJARA -- The importance of Mexico´s game against Nigeria boils down to one overriding question: How will El Tri´s Europe-based players fit in to Miguel Herrera´s system?

Herrera played down the assumption on Tuesday that this is a make-or-break game for the European legion, but he also didn´t hide that it is going to be a massive factor. Let´s not forget that Herrera is capable of big, bold decisions and he has made it abundantly clear since taking over as Mexico coach that Europe-based players are in no way guaranteed to be on the plane for Brazil just because they ply their trade in higher profile leagues than the Liga MX. After all, who would´ve predicted Mexico would face a World Cup playoff without its Europe-based group?

With that in mind, here are five key questions Herrera will be seeking answers to when Mexico come up against Nigeria.

Will Guillermo Ochoa take his chance?

There has been friction between Ochoa and the national team ever since the clenbuterol "scandal" kept him out of the 2011 Gold Cup after the first game. That was a major factor in him losing the starting spot with Mexico and, perhaps, not moving to a bigger European club than Ajaccio that summer.

That tense relationship reared its head again last August when then-coach Jose Manuel de la Torre said that the goalkeeper preferred to be left out of a squad than head over the Atlantic to warm the bench. Ochoa denied it, but the question-mark over the Ajaccio player has remained.

Off the field, Herrera will be taking a hard look at Ochoa´s attitude and if he would upset the balance of the squad if he was to attend his third World Cup as a back-up goalkeeper. It would likely be difficult for Ochoa to take.

On the pitch, Ochoa will be given a chance to show off his communication skills behind what is likely Mexico´s starting center back trio, so Herrera will be assessing Ochoa´s distribution and positioning to see if he is the ´keeper that should start in Brazil.

Is Andres Guardado capable of leaving his poor form in Europe?

It seemed, at least on paper, that 27-year-old Guardado´s move in January to Germany´s Bayer Leverkusen would be a fresh start and a good opportunity to prove himself in another league.

Unfortunately for the Guadalajara native, he has endured a difficult start to life in Germany and is yet to debut in the Bundesliga. Even in the cup and Champions League games he has played, Guardado hasn´t shown the solidity at left back he would´ve like.

Guardado´s participation in Brazil must be doubtful at present and while Herrera´s left wing back position suits him and the player´s versatility is a major plus, a good game would do both his confidence and chances of being in the World Cup squad no harm at all.

Is Hector Herrera a contender for the defensive midfield position?

Herrera plays with three central midfielders, two of which are charged with pressing and pushing forward and one of which plays the holding role and glues the whole team together. It is the same system Herrera´s America team used and which Gustavo Matosas´ Leon employ, helping to explain why Leon´s Jose Juan Vazquez and America´s Juan Carlos Medina appear to be the prime candidates to start in Brazil.

But in Tuesday´s press conference, Herrera hinted that Porto´s Hector Herrera may be an option in that position.

It will be fascinating to see if, firstly, the coach does field Herrera there and if he does, how he performs and whether he proves he has the discipline to play the position and not bomb forward.

Will Chicharito´s partnership with Oribe Peralta finally come to life?

The issue of whether De la Torre should have played one or two strikers hampered his time in charge of the national team. It seemed like the coach didn´t want to leave one of Peralta or Hernandez out and so he just went with both of them. It clearly didn´t work.

Now with Giovani Dos Santos out injured, Herrera is to give the partnership another shot on Wednesday in what is probably its last opportunity to succeed.

Has the right defensive balance been found?

Right now, the combination of Diego Reyes, Rafa Marquez and Hector Moreno appears to be Mexico´s best bet for the three central defender positions in the manager´s 5-3-2 system and they will start together for the first time against Nigeria.

It appears to be a good blend of youth (Reyes), experience (Marquez) and a player who is approaching his prime (Moreno). Moreno being a natural left footer provides a balance that is missing when the Espanyol player isn´t there. All three are also exceptional on the ball for defenders, assuring El Tri should be an attractive footballing outfit in Brazil.

But if there is a glaring gap, it would be that the combination lacks a raw defender who puts his body on the line for the team and will throw himself at anything to stop the ball going in. In other words, a Francisco "Maza" Rodriguez in good form.

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Bengoechea named Peru coach

Former Uruguayan midfielder Pablo Bengoechea was announced as Peru´s new coach for the rest of the year on Tuesday.

According to reports in the Peruvian media, former Chile and Athletic Bilbao head coach Marcelo Bielsa had been the FPF´s preferred option but once the 58-year-old Argentine rejected Peru, Bengoechea was announced.

The 49-year-old replaced compatriot Sergio Markarian, who resigned in October after failing to take Peru to the 2014 World Cup.

Bengoechea was Markarian´s assistant coach in the Peruvian national setup since 2010, while he had also spent time working under the 69-year-old at Universidad de Chile.

The FPF confirmed the appointment in a statement, revealing Bengoechea could have his contract extended to include the 2015 Copa America, which will be held in Chile.

Bengoechea represented Uruguay 43 times between 1986 and 1997, while his club career included significant stints at Sevilla and Penarol, where he was known as ´the Professor´.

"The FPF is grateful to Professor Bengoechea for accepting this position," FPF president Manuel Burga said in a statement.

"And we are confident that with the cooperation of all, we will achieve our cherished desires

Ifølge bold.dks kampprogram så skulle Panama have spillet mod Peru og Ecuador med Bosnien. Hvorfor skal de ikke spille alligevel? Er der noget jeg har overset af nyheder herinde eller?

Edit: jeg kan se Australien skal møde Ecuador senere i dag. Men stadigvæk, hvad med Panama?

Panama skal spille mod Peru klokken 01:00 i nat.

edit: Nu forsvandt kampen inde på livescore.. jeg ved ikke hvad der sker.

Panama skal spille mod Peru klokken 01:00 i nat.

Det må du meget gerne vise mig, for det kan jeg ikke finde nogen steder.

Nej, det kan jeg heller ikke længere. Jeg forstår ikke rigtigt hvad der sker.

Forsøgte mig også med en peruansk avis, men der stod der heller ikke noget om kampen.

Jeg kan ikke få mig selv til at se Brasiliens kamp med lyd på.

Du skal have tak for at have gjort mig opmærksom på at den bliver spillet nu.