Mexico

Gold Cup Preview: Mexico- Haiti

Goal.com's Sylvestre Adame previews Mexico's Gold Cup quarterfinal match against Haiti.

Jul 18, 2009 11:33:29 AM

Luis Miguel Noriega - Miguel Sabah - Mexico-Nicaragua (Mexsport)

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Luis Miguel Noriega - Miguel Sabah - Mexico-Nicaragua (Mexsport)

Teams

Haiti
Mexico

By Sylvestre Adame

Who: Mexico vs. Haiti
What: Gold Cup quarterfinals
When: 7 pm ET, Sunday, July 19
Where: Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas

The Mexican National team will try to advance to the semifinal round the Gold Cup on Sunday when they meet Haiti. El tri will once again go with out manager Javier Aguirre as he will be serving his second suspension of three. Haiti will be tough opponent and will be riding the good result they got against the U.S. into Dallas.

Leaders Of The Pack

Mexico qualified as leaders of their group after it seemed they wouldn’t. Their 2-0 win over Guadeloupe sealed it for the Mexicans. El Tri also did it with out Javier Aguirre on the sidelines and with injuries and suspensions to players in the roster. This time around though, El Tri is expected to have a full roster, with the exception of Aguirre, against Haiti. Carlos Vela and Guillermo Franco both admitted after their game against Guadeloupe, that they felt well enough to start against Haiti. Luis Miguel Noriega will also be back after serving a one game suspension for a red card.

New Stomping Grounds

Mexico and Haiti will be heading to Dallas for their quarterfinal match. Dallas is well known for its blistering heat and playing football under those conditions is almost impossible. Lucky for them the construction of Cowboys Stadium is finished and they can play in an air conditioned atmosphere. The massive stadium is expected to sell out especially since it is new. Jerry Jones, owner of the Cowboys, has already lent his support to El Tri and will be expecting the seats to be drowned in green. Dallas official said that this would benefit the Cowboys as a dress rehearsal for stadium operation on their upcoming season.

Haiti Made It

After earning a stunning draw against the U.S., Haiti made it to the quarter finals. Haiti along with Panama were the best third place teams in all three groups which gave them a ticket to the quarterfinals. However, statistic wise, Haiti is the worse team heading into the quarterfinals. They almost beat the U.S., who are considered the best team in the tournament, but Stuart Holden ruined it for the Haitians. Haiti like many other Caribbean teams are very physical. This could complicate things for the Mexican's as we saw when they faced Panama. If Haiti do play this style of game we could well see them in the semifinal round

Projected Lineups

Mexico

Guillermo Ochoa; Fausto Pinto, Jonny Magallon, Ismael Rodriguez, Efrain Juarez; Pablo Barrera, Gerardo Torrado, Luis Noriega, Alberto Medina; Giovani Dos Santos, Carlos Vela

Haiti

Jean Zephinin; Frantz Gilles, Frantz Bertin, Judelin Aveska, Pierre Richard; Brunel Fucien, James Marcelin, Mones Chery, Vaniel Sirin; Fabrice Noel, Leonel Saint-Preux

Projected score: Mexico 2-1 Haiti.

Sylvestre Adame, Goal.com

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