ARLINGTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 08: Javier Hernandez #10 of Mexico celebrates his goal in the first half against Argentina during a international friendly at AT&T Stadium on September 8, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Constructing a Mexico NT Starting XI from the CONCACAF Playoff 35 man roster

Mexico and the United States submitted their 35 man roster for the October 10 CONCACAF Cup match to determine who goes to the Confederations Cup in 2017. There will be another round of cuts to bring the squad down to a final 23 man roster.

Here again is the 32 man provisional squad for Mexico.

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Phillip already dissected the USMNT roster, now we will focus on the Mexican National Team and see what potential 23 players Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti will choose come October. As Ferretti is an interim coach and only has coached two games so far, we will go with the formation he has used in friendlies against Trinidad and Tobago and Argentina, which is 5-3-2.


 

Goalkeeper – Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa

Certainly Ferretti will keep his number one goalkeeper going into the matchup with the United States and that is Memo Ochoa of Malaga. However, Ochoa has come under scrutiny by fans with Malaga choosing Cameroonian Carlos Kameni as their starter. The Malaga president has labeled Ochoa “a player for the future” but with Ochoa already 30 years old, Ochoa is in his prime and to keep one of the shining stars of the 2014 World Cup in the bench is not a good look for him.

He will be in direct competition with Moises Muñoz, but overall Memo Ochoa looks certain to receive the nod from Tuca to be the starting keeper.

Defenders – Miguel Layún (LB), Diego Reyes (CB), Rafa Márquez (SW), Hector Moreno (CB), Paul Aguilar (RB)

This is basically the same defensive line that Tuca used for the friendly against Argentina except substituting Israel Jiménez with Paul Aguilar on the right side. I think that Paul Aguilar can bring more explosiveness and create more chances near the touchline than Jiménez, as Aguilar usually works in this position with Club América with great results. The Mexican backline is greatly assisted with Hector Moreno back from injury and will solidify the right side along with veteran Rafa Márquez playing a sweeper-type role.

On the left Miguel Layún and Diego Reyes are great young prospects, and now teammates with Porto in Portugal. However, that inexperience can be exposed as both defenders have been prone to defensive errors that lead to goals, but with Márquez anchoring the backline, he can provide a calming presence for them.

Midfielders – Andrés Guardado (LM), José Juan Vásquez (CM), Héctor Herrera (RM)

The Mexican midfield is vast but this line up of midfielders are the cream of the crop for Tuca Ferretti. Guardado and Herrera are experienced players that currently play in Europe in the Netherlands and Portugal respectively, and they will bring that veteran knowledge to the middle to assist young José Juan Vásquez.

Vásquez may be young, but since playing for León in 2012, he has helped La Fiera to back-to-back championships in the Apertura 2013 and Clausura 2014 seasons. He is the playmaker for León and his recent form for them has been impressive enough for Tuca to take notice. He will play a pivotal role in holding down the middle of the field along with his veteran teammates.

Forwards – Oribe Peralta (ST) and Javier “Chicharito” Hernández (ST)

These two are stalwart players for Mexico and have delivered for them on many occasions. Chicharito is one of the most beloved Mexican strikers in Mexican history and his recent move to Bayer Leverkusen has El Tri fans hopeful he can do great things in his club as he has for his country.

Meanwhile, Oribe Peralta continues to be one of the best strikers in Mexico so far scoring four goals in the Liga MX. After his impressive showing in the Gold Cup, also scoring four goals in the tournament, fans will be looking forward to “El Hermoso” scoring more goals to get them to the Confederations Cup in 2017.

Bench – Moises Muñoz, Israel Jiménez, Jorge Torres Nilo, Carlos “Gulit” Peña, Jonathan Dos Santos, Carlos Vela, Jesús “Tecatito” Corona

And there is our Mexican squad for the CONCACAF Cup. El Tuca Ferretti will surely put his best players out there against the United States and will try and break Mexico’s six-game winless streak against the U.S. and, if he is successful, perhaps a new contract as Mexican manger will be in his future.

About Josh Espinal

I am a multimedia journalism graduate from the University of Texas at El Paso. Soccer is more than a passion for me, it's basically life. Follow me on twitter at @joshbruv and see me tweet about soccer in almost every language imaginable.

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