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Mexico close out their group stage participation in the 2017 Gold Cup when they take on Curaçao this Sunday in San Antonio, Texas.
El Tri arrive on the back of a goalless draw with Jamaica that left many fans disappointed with their overall performance. Mexico had started the tournament with a comfortable 3-1 win over El Salvador, but against the Reggae Boyz, El Tri’s firepower simply ran out. While missing several key players, the onus for this team was always going to be on their goalscoring, and in that regard, they were left exposed against a very defensive Jamaican side.
The good news for Juan Carlos Osorio’s men is they still sit atop of Group C with four points and it would take something special to see Mexico not qualify to the quarterfinals. In their final group stage game against Curaçao, a draw will be enough to seal El Tri a place in the next round and even losing Mexico can still qualify.
Curaçao arrive with two losses in their first two games. The Caribbean side came into this tournament as one of the potential surprises, but after two games, they’ve been underwhelming offensively, currently being the only team in the tournament without scoring a single goal.
As it goes with the Mexico national team, in games where they are favorites by a large margin, it isn’t just about winning but winning with style. It’s almost been like a rollercoaster since Juan Carlos Osorio arrived at the helm, and once again, the pressure is on. Mexico needs to win and win convincingly, or else the vultures will continue to fly over as the team heads into the quarterfinals.
Date: Sunday, July 16
Time: 5:30 PM Pacific, 7:30 PM Central, 8:30 PM Eastern
Venue: Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
Television: Univision (US-Spanish), Univision Deportes (US-Spanish), Fox Sports 1 (US-English), Canal de las Estrellas (Mexico), SKY Planeta Fútbol (Mexico), TDN (Mexico), UnivisionTDN (Mexico), Azteca 13 (Mexico), Sky HD (Mexico)
Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription), Fox Sports GO, Univision NOW