Mexico continues its preparations for the 2026 World Cup with a friendly match against Turkiye on Tuesday. This game serves as another competitive test as the one-year countdown to the tournament, set in North America, officially begins.
El Tri, designated as one of the three host nations for next year`s World Cup, is in the final stages of getting ready for the Concacaf Gold Cup. This upcoming tournament offers a final opportunity to secure silverware before the World Cup. Mexico recently achieved a significant milestone by winning their first-ever Concacaf Nations League title in March, a positive step early in Javier Aguirre`s third tenure as head coach.
Tuesday`s fixture against Turkiye is Mexico`s second of two friendly matches before the Gold Cup. The first resulted in a 4-2 loss to Switzerland, where Santiago Gimenez scored his fifth national team goal and veteran Angel Sepulveda added a second from the bench.
Meanwhile, Turkiye traveled to the U.S. for their final international window ahead of their World Cup qualifying campaign, which starts in September. They aim to reach the tournament for the first time since 2002. Their international break began strongly with a 2-1 victory over the U.S. men`s national team on Saturday, featuring goals from Arda Guler and Kerem Akturkoglu.
Match Details
- Date: Tuesday, June 10
- Time: 9 p.m. ET
- Location: Kenan Stadium — Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- TV: Univision
- Live stream: Fubo
- Odds: Mexico +150; Draw +235; Turkiye +170
Last Meeting
This match marks the first encounter between the senior men`s national teams of Mexico and Turkiye.
Team News & Commentary
What Mexico is saying
Even friendly losses generate significant attention in Mexico. The national team faced considerable criticism after their defeat to Switzerland, a match where they were outperformed in certain areas, particularly in attack. Despite matching Switzerland in possession and shots on target, Mexico generated only 1.11 expected goals from 10 shots.
Javier Aguirre, in his third spell as head coach, acknowledged the criticism. “It`s never good to lose,” he stated. “We didn`t play well. It was a game with a lot of takeaways – more negatives than positives. But what we can salvage is the effort from Santiago Giménez and Angel Sepulveda. We want people to criticize us – we`ll prove what we`re capable of at the Gold Cup. There will be rotations against Turkiye; that`s what these friendlies are for. We need to be fully prepared.”
What Turkiye is saying
Although World Cup qualifiers are three months away, Turkiye head coach Vincenzo Montella is focused on them as his team concludes their U.S. trip with the friendly against Mexico.
“We need to think of this match as the last match of the season for us,” Montella commented. “We came to the USA with our players who are at the end of the season, but [Mexico`s players] are in the middle of the season. Our opponent tomorrow is tough, they won the last Concacaf [Nations League]. We are facing a good opponent tomorrow, we want to finish this period well because we want to focus completely on September afterwards. September is very important for us.”
This preparation might include giving minutes to young players, providing them with valuable experience before World Cup qualifying begins. “We generally play friendly matches to improve ourselves,” Montella explained. “We also have young players, two of our players played for the first time in the last match, and maybe we will have players who will play for the first time in this match. I think that there should not be too many changes in general, it should be done in a balanced way, if there is a game plan, I think it would be much better to develop it based on that and evaluate everyone.”
Predicted Lineups
- Mexico: Luis Malagon, Julian Araujo, Cesar Montes, Mateo Chavez, Emilio Lara, Gilberto Mora, Edson Alvarez, Orbelin Pineda, Alexis Vega, Santiago Gimenez, Raul Jimenez
- Turkiye: Berke Ozer, Zeki Celik, Merih Demiral, Samet Akaydin, Yasin Ozcan, Ismail Yuksek, Kaan Ayhan, Oguz Aydin, Arda Guler, Kerim Yildiz, Kerem Akturkoglu
Player to Watch
Santiago Gimenez, Mexico: The forward line has been a subject of attention for Mexico. Santiago Gimenez has earned a starting spot based on his performance for European clubs, scoring 26 goals last season across Feyenoord and AC Milan. However, this form hasn`t consistently translated to the national team, where he scored only his fifth international goal recently. A strong run this summer could potentially transform Mexico`s attack from a weakness into a strength.
Storyline to Watch
World Cup in Sight: With the World Cup just a year away (and Turkiye still needing to qualify), the tournament is very much on the minds of national teams worldwide. Both Mexico and Turkiye will likely use this friendly to experiment with personnel and tactics. The stakes are significant for both sides: Mexico aims to impress as a host nation and improve on their 2022 group stage exit, while Turkiye is targeting their first qualification since their impressive third-place finish in 2002.
Prediction
Given that experimentation is likely a priority for both teams, predicting the outcome of this game is challenging. However, Turkiye`s attack might be better equipped to score at this moment, especially if Real Madrid`s Arda Guler is involved. Expect the match to favor Turkiye in that scenario.
Pick: Mexico 1, Turkiye 2
