Match preview: Mexico U24 vs. Romania U24

Mexico will start their friendly tour in Marbella, Spain by facing Romania. Both teams are qualified to the Olympic games and this will be Mexico first match since winning the U23 CONCACAF Championship in Guadalajara. Coach Jaime Lozano will start his preparation for the Olympic games, but surprisingly has decided to use this tour to still tryout players. Lozano’s call up list has a lot of players who didn’t go to the U24 Championship, while some mainstays for the team remained with the senior squad as they play in the CONCACAF Nations League.

Mexico is set to start their preparation for the Olympic games against Romania on Saturday. Romania is a tough European team, although overall it should be the European team with the least chances going in. That being said it should be a style that is tough for Mexico, who suffered the most with the very physical Honduras side in the CONCACAF Championship Final. Still with Lozano treating the match as a test, it could be a very interesting match. With the other friendlies being against Saudi Arabia and Australia, this could be the toughest match of the friendly tour.

It’s a strange situation for Mexico and what Lozano plans to do. With so few friendlies expected before the Olympic matches set to be played in July, this tour should have been the start of preparations. Yet with so many players on the “bubble” and with key players for the tournament playing in the CONCACAF Nations League, there should be a lot of experimentation when the team should be all set on the Olympic tournament. With Mexico being grouped in a very tough Group A along with tournament favorite France and hosts Japan, Lozano will have a very tough task ahead and yet has decided to still use the friendly tour to see players. It might be a decision that could turn for Mexico quickly.

Game: Mexico U24 vs. Romania U24

Date: Saturday, June 5th

Time: 2:00 p.m. Eastern, 1:00 p.m. Central, 11:00 a.m. Pacific, 6:00 p.m. UTC

Venue: Estadio Municipal de Marbella (Marbella, Málaga, Andalusia)

Television: United States - TUDN; Mexico - TUDN

Streaming: fuboTV (Subscription), TUDN En Vivo