Mexico and Uruguay meet on Wednesday night in Denver as they intensify their preparations for the Copa America, which begins in less than three weeks.
In their first June friendly, an experimental Mexican team defeated Bolivia; nevertheless, the previous game, an inexperienced La Celeste outfit was held goalless by Costa Rica.
Mexico defeated Bolivia 1-0 last weekend in Chicago, despite fielding a youthful starting lineup. Efrain Alvarez's goal in the second half was sufficient to win the first of Mexico's three Copa America warm-up matches.
El Tri has decided to prepare with two difficult tests over the next three days: after playing Uruguay in Colorado, they must play Brazil in Texas. El Tri will play Ecuador, Jamaica, and Venezuela in Group B.
For the two matches, head coach Jaime Lozano is anticipated to bring back a number of key players in an effort to gain momentum following Mexico's defeat to the USA in the CONCACAF Nations League final.
Following that agonizing loss, Mexico's performance has been inconsistent since the end of 2023, and both supporters and analysts have questioned Lozano's suitability.
After leading his country's Under-23 squad to a bronze medal in Tokyo 2020, the former Necaxa manager may need to have a similarly stellar Copa America campaign to avoid dismissal and prepare for a World Cup that will be partially held in his home country.
While Mexico takes on underdogs Jamaica in the tournament's opening match on June 23, an ambitious Uruguay team begins their quest for a 16th continental crown the following day when they play Panama; their other opponents are Bolivia and the hosts, USA.
Although Lozano missed Saturday's 0-0 draw with Costa Rica, La Celeste's quirky tactical guru Marcelo Bielsa is considerably more comfortable in his role than the Argentine.
Rather, Diego Perez, who was a member of the Uruguayan coaching squad that won the Under-20 World Cup the previous year, was in command of a roster that consisted solely of players without caps.
Putting that result aside, Uruguay has scored in every game since losing 2-0 to Portugal in Qatar 2022 and are now second in CONMEBOL's lengthy World Cup qualifying schedule after victories over both Brazil and Argentina. Bielsa's whole team will return to play on Wednesday.
Even though they lost 2-1 to Ivory Coast in a friendly match in March—the African champions handed Bielsa his second defeat since taking the helm last year—La Celeste is still expected to contend for the title this summer.
