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The United States isn’t the only Concacaf nation playing January friendlies but this one is a little different than normal. Instead of facing international sides, a young Mexican squad will face Internacional and River Plate during their January camp. With the Brazillian and Argentine leagues currently in the midst of a a break, the Mexican squad will head into their homes in order to face these squads. This will provide head coach Javier Aguirre a chance to get to see younger members of the depth chart and what they can do in the lead-up to the World Cup in 2026.
The United States men’s national team has done January camps for years now and more Concacaf sides are joining them, taking advantage of a schedule that sees leagues in the America’s generally not in session this time of yer. While Liga MX is a league that’s in session, there’s still room to take younger players for a camp due to those teams having deeper rosters than MLS teams.
Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch
- Date: Thursday, Jan. 16 | Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadio Beira-Rio — Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Mexico’s roster
Goalkeepers: Raul Rangel (Chivas), Andres Sanchez (San Luis), Fernando Tapia (Tigres)
Defenders: Jesus Gallardo (Toluca), Jesus Orozco (Chivas), Ramon Juarez (America), Victor Guzman (Monterrey), Jesus Alberto Angulo (Tigres), Eduardo Aguila (San Luis), Jose Castillo (Chivas)
Midfielders: Luis Romo (Cruz Azul), Elias Montiel (Pachuca), Gilberto Mora (Tijuana), Pedro Pedraza (Pachuca), Jeremy Marquez (Atlas), Erik Lira (Cruz Azul), Jorge Ruvalcaba (Pumas), Jose Ramirez (Leon), Rivaldo Lozano (Atlas).
Forwards: Guillermo Martinez (Pumas), Efrain Alvarez (Tijuana), Santiago Muñoz (Santos), Raymundo Fulgencio (Tigres)
Why would Internacional play this match?
After finishing fifth in the Brazil Serie A last season, this will be a good chance for Internacional to begin breaking in new signings ahead of a long season. Facing Mexico may be an unorthodox way to kick off preseason but it does give the Brazilian side a chance to see players who they aren’t familiar with and who are also working hard for a spot in the national team. Motivation can be tough to come by during friendlies and this is one way to find that.
Prediction
While it’s tough to know how seriously Internacional will take this match, it’s unlikely that they’d fail to defeat a youthful Mexican side. Pick: Internacional 2, Mexico 1
