Preview: Mexico vs. Brazil – prediction, team news, lineups – Sports Mole
Brazil will play the first of their two pre-Copa America warm-up matches on Saturday evening, with Mexico their opponents in the United States.
Selecao were last in action at the end of March, drawing 3-3 with Spain in a glamour friendly, but Mexico faced Uruguay on Thursday evening, suffering a 4-0 loss in Colorado.
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Like Brazil, Mexico are preparing to take part in the Copa America this summer, with El Tri drawn in Group B at the competition alongside Ecuador, Venezuela and Jamaica.
Jaime Lozano‘s side, as mentioned, will enter this match off the back of a 4-0 defeat to Uruguay, with Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez hitting a brace in a dominant performance from Marcelo Bielsa‘s side.
Mexico will now be looking to avoid what would be another damaging defeat ahead of their Copa America opener with Jamaica on June 22.
El Tricolor have never won the Copa America, but they were runners-up in 1993 and have since reached the semi-finals on three occasions, with their last spot in the final four coming back in 2007.
Mexico, who were knocked out in group stage of the 2022 World Cup, have won 10 and lost 24 of their previous 41 matches against Brazil, including a 2-0 defeat in the last clash between the two sides at the 2018 World Cup.
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Brazil played two glamour friendlies back in March, beating England 1-0 at Wembley Stadium before drawing 3-3 with Spain three days later, and they actually entered the two fixtures off the back of three straight defeats in their 2026 World Cup qualification section.
Selecao are currently down in sixth spot in their World Cup group, picking up just seven points from six matches, but they will still be confident of securing their spot in the finals of the 2026 competition.
Brazil will be going in search of their 10th Copa America crown this summer, with the national side last triumphing at the tournament in 2019, losing 1-0 to Argentina in the 2021 final.
There will certainly be pressure on Dorival Junior‘s side to perform at the tournament, and the clash with Mexico represents the first of two warm-up matches, with the second coming against the United States on June 12.
Brazil will take on Costa Rica, Paraguay and Colombia in the group stage of this summer’s Copa America, with their section opener coming against the former on June 24.
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Mexico head coach Lozano will make changes from the side that started the clash with Uruguay, including the likely introduction of Santiago Gimenez at centre-forward.
Gimenez has only managed four goals in 26 caps for his country, but an excellent 2023-24 campaign at club level saw him register 26 goals in 41 appearances for Feyenoord.
Alexis Vega and Luis Romo are also set to be introduced into the side, but there should be another appearance in the middle of midfield for West Ham United’s Edson Alvarez.
As for Brazil, Eder Militao, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo could all start, fresh from helping Real Madrid win the Champions League final last weekend.
Bruno Guimaraes, Douglas Luiz and Lucas Paqueta could be the Premier League representatives alongside Alisson, who will feature between the sticks, as Ederson is unavailable for selection due to an eye injury.
Raphinha is also expected to be given the nod in an attacking area, with 17-year-old Endrick potentially earning his fifth cap for Brazil off the bench.
Mexico possible starting lineup:
Rangel; B Garcia, Guzman, Orozco, Montes; Alvarez, Beltran; Romo, Vega, Huerta; Gimenez
Brazil possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Danilo, Militao, Marquinhos, Wendell; Guimaraes, Luiz; Raphinha, Paqueta, Vinicius; Rodrygo
Mexico will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing performance against Uruguay, but this will be a tough assignment against a very talented Brazil side. We are not expecting too many goals on Saturday but believe that Brazil will have too much quality for their opponents in the contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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