BRAZIL 2014 Team Profile: Mexico

FIFA World Cup finals history
Mexico have fallen in the Round of 16 on their last five appearances in the finals, with Argentina halting their progress at both Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010. Those defeats proved painful for El Tri’s legion of fans, who have been waiting a long time to see their side return to last eight. Only twice have the Mexicans made it to the quarters, both time on home soil, in 1970 and 1986.

The key players
After an agonising qualifying competition full of setbacks, coaching changes and tactical reshuffles, predicting how the Mexicans will fare at Brazil 2014 is no easy task. While El Tri can count on a band of high-profile overseas-based players, spearheaded by Javier Chicharito Hernandez, Andres Guardado and Giovani dos Santos, the last few months have shown that the latest wave of young players also have much to offer, chief among them their London 2012 hero Oribe Peralta, Raul Jimenez and Carlos Pena. Now that they have safely secured their ticket to Brazil, the Mexicans have time to find some stability and build for the future.

Current coach:Miguel Herrera
Best performance in a FIFA competition:FIFA Confederations Cup Mexico 1999 (winners), FIFA U-17 World Cup Peru 2005 (winners)
Former stars: Antonio Carbajal, Hugo Sanchez, Jorge Campos, Cuauhtemoc Blanco

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