Hector Herrera (#6) is one of El Tri's most important players. (Photo : Reuters)
Tournament favorites Mexico and Costa Rica square off in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Gold Cup at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, July 19.
Both squads are coming off disappointing performances in the group classifications of this summer's competitions.
El Tri barely survived the challenge of Trinidad and Tobago in their final elimination round game at the Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday to settle for a 4-4 tie, as per Bleacher Report.
Miguel Herrera's boys got lucky when T and T forward Kenwyne Jones made an own goal in the 90th minute to put them up 4-3, but still could not preserve the win as they let center back Yohance Marshall equalize the count three minutes later.
Before that, the Mexicans were also forced into a draw by Guatemala. Their only good game so far is the 6-0 thrashing of an undermanned Cuban eleven in their opener.
Paulo Wanchope's wards are having problems of their own as they have not won a single game in the tourney so far. Settling for three straight drawn matches is not what football analysts have expected from the champions of the 2014 Copa Centroamericana. Their last game was a goalless draw against Canada, as reported by ESPN.
If they play the same uninspired way against La Verde, then they should not expect moving on to the semifinals against either the Soca Warriors or Panama.
Prediction: El Tri above La Sele, 3-2. Both teams will find their rhythm, but the Mexicans will prevail to advance to the semis.
Mexico starting lineup (5-3-2 formation): Ochoa; Reyes, Rodríguez, Corona, Aguilar, Layún; Herrera, J. dos Santos, Guardado; G. dos Santos, Vela
Costa Rica starting lineup (4-2-2-2 formation): Alvarado; Calvo, Díaz, González, Gamboa; Guzmán, Ruiz; Borges, Vega; Venegas, Ramírez
