For Mexico's first national team match of the year, Chepo de la Torre brings a young squad made up entirely of domestic players to face Venezuela in tonight's friendly. It may not be a full strength roster, but the match still carries significant weight in terms of the broader national team picture. Tonight's game in Houston gives some of the younger players on the periphery of the national team pool an excellent chance to break onto the scene. This year will be an important one for El Tri, with World Cup qualifying as well as the Summer Olympics, and many of the players who take the field tonight will be prominently involved in at least one of those endeavors.
With the spotlight on, what players are ready to step up and prove themselves? Tune in tonight to find out. Starting lineups for both Mexico and Venezuela are below, along with kickoff time and television broadcast information.
Mexico lineup: Jesus Corona, Carlos Salcido, Hugo Ayala, Edgar Duenas, Israel Jimenez, Israel Castro, Jesus Zavala, Javier Cortes, Marco Fabian, Nestor Calderon, Oribe Peralta.
Venezuela lineup: Leo Morales, Carlos Rivero, Jose Manuel "Sema" Velazquez, Carlos Salazar, Rubert Quijada, Miguel Mea Vitali, Francisco Flores, Alejandro Guerra, Edgar Perez Greco, Darwin Machis, Jose Reyes.
Kickoff will be at 9pm Eastern (8pm local time in Houston, Texas). The venue is Reliant Stadium and the game can be seen live in the United States on Univision.