The 2021 Gold Cup runners-up, Mexico, begin their quest to get back to the top of the CONCACAF mountain when they face Honduras at NRG Stadium in Houston in the opening match for both sides on Sunday.

El Tri are coming off a third-place finish at the CONCACAF Nations League, defeating Panama 1-0 on Sunday, while La H were beaten a 1-0 by Venezuela in a tune-up match last week.

Match preview

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It took seven matches for the Mexican federation to decide that Diego Cocca is not the man to lead the Central Americans in the long term as the Argentine coach was given his marching orders on Monday, with Jaime Lozano now in charge on an interim basis.

The man who led Mexico to a bronze medal at the previous Summer Olympics has a lot of work to do when it comes to reinvigorating a team who have looked dismal since their 2022 World Cup group stage exit, suffering a 3-0 defeat in the Nations League semi-finals versus the USA last week.

Since April 2022, they have been wildly inconsistent along the back end, suffering seven defeats in all competitions and conceding three or more goals four times.

Even though they are not in great form at the moment, winning a record eight Gold Cup tournaments will make them one of the teams to beat again this year, with the Mexicans only suffering 10 defeats all-time in this competition.

In past Gold Cup tournaments, El Tri have completely overwhelmed their opponents repeatedly, netting a whopping 180 goals altogether while conceding only 47 for a goal difference of +133.

Mexico have earned at least a point in 14 successive group stage matches at the Gold Cup since a 2-1 opening loss to Panama in 2013, while they did not concede once in their first three matches at this tournament two years ago.

They have only suffered one defeat versus the Hondurans since 2014, winning the last three meetings against them, outscoring La H 7-0 over that stretch.

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Like the Mexicans, Honduras are also going through a rough patch right now as their ageing generation have struggled against other teams in CONCACAF.

Their 2022 World Cup qualification campaign was a disaster, as they failed to win a single match in the final round for the first time, earning a mere four points altogether.

Since their Qatar qualifying campaign ended, La H have been under the guidance of Diego Vasquez, and they were a game away from potentially making the Nations League A semi-finals, finishing second in Group C with six points, three behind Canada.

Vasquez has picked a mix of youthful and experienced players on his Gold Cup roster, eight of which are 30 or older, while five are 25 and under.

Honduras have been a mainstay at this competition since the turn of the century, failing to qualify only once in the 2000s (2002), making it into the last eight in two of their previous three appearances.

Los Catrachos have not beaten El Tri at this competition since coming from behind to win 2-1 in 2007, losing their three previous Gold Cup matches against them and failing to score in each of those instances.

They have not lost a match when scoring first since dropping a 2-1 decision versus Jamaica in their final World Cup 2022 qualifier.

Team News

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Carlos Acevedo withdrew from this tournament for Mexico due to an injury, as did Alexis Vega, and those two players will be replaced by Jose Antonio Rodriguez and Roberto Alvarado.

While the most capped player in Mexican history, Andres Guardado, will not be here, having announced his retirement last month, El Tri still have plenty of experience to call upon, with Guillermo Ochoa having made 19 appearances at the Gold Cup, while Edson Alvarez, Cesar Montes and Orbelin Pineda are also returning after an unsuccessful World Cup campaign.

Jesus Gallardo notched just his second international goal for Mexico in its third-place encounter versus Panama at the Nations League, Johan Vasquez made his ninth career appearance in that encounter, as did Israel Reyes, while Uriel Antuna is five short of reaching 50 caps.

Romell Quioto led Honduras with three goals at the 2021 Gold Cup but will miss this tournament because of a hamstring strain, while Francisco Martinez was the only Honduran player selected for this competition without an appearance for the senior side.

After a long time away, Jerry Bengtson has been recalled for this tournament, with the 36-year-old Olimpia striker having notched four goals at this competition altogether, Alberth Elis is two caps away from 60, Bryan Acosta is one away from achieving that same feat, while Luis Lopez needs three more appearances to reach that mark himself.

Elis and Quioto netted the last time they defeated Mexico in 2017, with an own-goal from Ochoa in between, while Jorge Benguche was the last player to score for Los Catrachos in an international fixture when the Hondurans lost 4-1 to Canada in their final group stage game at the Nations League.

Mexico possible starting lineup:
Ochoa; Araujo, Montes, Vasquez, Gallardo; Herrera, Cordova, Pineda; Antuna, Gimenez, Martin

Honduras possible starting lineup:
L. Lopez; Nunez, Elvir, Vega, Santos; Flores, Acosta; Elis, Rosales, Pinto; Bengtson

We say: Mexico 2-0 Honduras

These were two of the strongest teams in the region a few years ago, but neither have looked nearly as sharp over the past year or so.

Playing without Quioto could be challenging for Honduras, who rely heavily on the CF Montreal attacker, and we expect the experienced Mexican backline to have an easier time shutting down Los Catrachos, while their attack should be able to break through against an inexperienced defensive unit.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

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