Mexico continues its preparations for the 2026 World Cup by playing Turkey on Tuesday. This friendly match comes as the one-year countdown to the tournament in North America officially begins.
El Tri, one of the three host nations for next year`s World Cup, is also in the final stages of getting ready for the Concacaf Gold Cup. This tournament offers a last chance for silverware before the World Cup. Mexico recently won their first-ever Concacaf Nations League title in March, a significant achievement early in Javier Aguirre`s third period managing the national team.
Tuesday`s game against Turkey is Mexico`s second of two friendly matches before the Gold Cup. Their first friendly resulted in a 4-2 loss to Switzerland. In that match, Santiago Gimenez scored his fifth goal for the national team, and veteran Angel Sepulveda added a second goal after coming off the bench.
Meanwhile, Turkey is in the U.S. for their final international window before their World Cup qualifying campaign starts in September. Their goal is to qualify for the tournament for the first time since 2002. They started their U.S. trip strongly with a 2-1 win over the U.S. men`s national team on Saturday, with goals scored by Arda Guler and Kerem Akturkoglu.
How to Watch, 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; Turkey +170
Last Meeting
This upcoming match will be the first encounter between the senior men`s national teams of Mexico and Turkey.
What the Teams Are Saying
Mexico`s View
Even though Saturday`s match was a friendly, a loss for El Tri is never received well in Mexico. The national team faced considerable criticism after their defeat to Switzerland, a game where they were outplayed in some aspects, particularly in attack. Despite having equal possession and similar shots on target as Switzerland, Mexico only managed 1.11 expected goals from their 10 shots.
Javier Aguirre, in his third spell as Mexico`s head coach, accepted the criticism.
“It`s never good to lose,” he stated on Monday. “We didn`t play well. It was a game with many things to learn from – more negatives than positives. But what we can take away positively is the effort from Santiago Giménez and Angel Sepulveda. We want people to criticize us – we will show what we are capable of at the Gold Cup. There will be rotations against Turkey; that`s the purpose of these friendly matches. We need to be completely prepared.”
Turkey`s View
Although World Cup qualifiers are still three months away, these upcoming games are a priority for Turkey`s head coach Vincenzo Montella as his squad concludes their U.S. trip with the friendly against Mexico on Tuesday.
“We need to regard this match as the last match of the season for us,” Montella commented. “We came to the USA with our players who are finishing their seasons, but they are in the middle of the season here. Our opponent tomorrow is tough; they recently won the Concacaf Nations League. We are facing a good opponent tomorrow, and we want to finish this period well because we want to focus entirely on September afterward. September is very important for us.”
This preparation could involve giving playing time to younger players, allowing them to gain vital experience before World Cup qualifying begins.
“We generally play friendly matches to improve ourselves,” Montella said. “We also have young players; two of our players played for the first time in the last match, and perhaps we will have players who will make their debut in this match. I believe there shouldn`t be too many general changes; it should be done in a balanced way. If there`s a game plan, I think developing it based on that and assessing everyone would be much better.”
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
- Turkey: 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 performance of Mexico`s attack has been a point of discussion for some time. Santiago Gimenez has earned a starting spot due to his performances for his European clubs. He scored 26 goals for Feyenoord and AC Milan last season. However, this goal-scoring form hasn`t consistently carried over to the national team, where he scored just his fifth international goal on Saturday. A successful run of form this summer could potentially transform Mexico`s attack from a weak point into a strength.
Storyline to Watch
World Cup Ambitions: While the 2026 World Cup is a year away (and Turkey hasn`t qualified yet), it is firmly on the minds of most national teams worldwide. Both sides will undoubtedly use this friendly to experiment with players and tactical approaches, aiming not just to reach the World Cup but to perform impressively when the time comes. The stakes are high for both: Mexico wants to make a strong impression as a host nation and improve upon their group stage exit in 2022, while Turkey is aiming for their first appearance in the competition since their memorable third-place finish in 2002.
Prediction
Considering that both Mexico and Turkey are likely prioritizing experimentation in this friendly, predicting the exact direction of the game is difficult. However, Turkey`s attack might be slightly better prepared to score goals at this moment, particularly if Real Madrid`s Arda Guler is involved. Expect the match to potentially lean in Turkey`s favor in that scenario.
Prediction: Mexico 1, Turkey 2
