Belarus vs. Mexico
International Friendly
Tuesday, Nov. 18 | 12 pm ET | Borisov Arena -- Borisov, Belarus
TV: ESPNEWS, UniMas
On the heels of an exhilarating 3-2 win in Amsterdam against World Cup semifinalists, the Netherlands, Mexico look to close out a memorable 2014 on a positive note. But unlike Amsterdam, there will be few El Tri supporters helping them feel warm and welcome in frigid Belarus, where temperatures could dip into the 20s for the match-up at the recently constructed Borisov Arena, home of UEFA Champions League side BATE Borisov.
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LINEUP QUESTIONS: It looks like manager Miguel "El Piojo" Herrera will be turning over the entire starting lineup for this second match on European soil. "Only Paul Aguilar will repeat," Herrera told media in reference to Tuesday's anticipated XI with an injury to Queretaro right back George Corral forcing his hand.
Media outlets speculate that the rest of the squad will feature all the players who didn't start vs. the Netherlands (5-3-2): GK Alfredo Talavera -- Paul Aguilar, Hugo Rodríguez, Luis Venegas, Julio Cesar "Cata" Domínguez, Miguel Ponce -- Jonathan Dos Santos, Jesus Tecatito Corona, Arturo Poncho González -- Giovani dos Santos, Raúl Jiménez.
So no encore for star forwards Carlos Vela (two goals vs. Dutch) or Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez. At least to start.
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LOOK AT BELARUS: They got rid of the coach, but the results remained the same. With interim manager Andriy Zygmantovich at the helm, Belarus, ranked 106th in the world (compared to No. 17 for Mexico), fell to their third straight EURO 2016 qualifying defeat, 3-0 to Spain on Saturday (Isco's goal was especially sweet, see below). With two previous losses to Slovakia and Ukraine following a group-opening draw at Luxembourg, they have virtually no shot at advancing.
Although Spain were dominant at home, it's worth noting that Belarus still managed 10 attempts at goal, only hitting the frame once when they struck the woodwork. They put out a 5-4-1 starting lineup that looked like this: GK Zhevnov -- Balanovich, Yanushkevich, Martynovich, Politevich, Matveychik -- Nekhaychik, Dragun, Krivets, Kalachev -- Komilenko.
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END GOAL: Herrera is trying to figure out how to create two separate squads for both the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2015 Copa America next summer. He told media in Minsk that he's looking at finalizing those decisions during the last two matches available to him: the FIFA date in March and a potential match against the United States in April.
And El Piojo will be able to focus on the road to Russia 2018 in relative tranquillity, rare for El Tri's national team coach. in fact, Herrera confirmed there's a deal in place with the Mexican federation to prolong his time in charge and all that's left is his signature. But he's not naive.
"I'm focused on obtaining the objectives," Herrera said. "A signed contract doesn't guarantee you'll be staying. You have to get results to be there until 2018."
Here are the full rosters for both countries:
MEXICO
Goalkeepers (2): Guillermo Ochoa (Malaga/Spain), Alfredo Talavera (Toluca/Mexico)
Defenders (8): Julio Cesar Dominguez (Cruz Azul/Mexico), Enrique Perez (Atlas/Mexico), Luis Venegas (Atlas/Mexico), Paul Aguilar (America/Mexico), Miguel Ponce (Toluca/Mexico), Miguel Herrera (Pachuca/Mexico), Oswaldo Alanis (Santos Laguna/Mexico), Diego Reyes (Porto/Portugal)
Midfielders (7): Jose Juan Vazquez (Leon/Mexico), Jonathan Dos Santos (Villarreal/Spain), Adrian Aldrete (Santos Laguna/Mexico), Hector Herrera (Porto/Portugal), Jesus Corona (Twente/Netherlands), Andres Guardado (PSV/Netherlands), Alfonso Gonzalez (Atlas/Mexico)
Forwards (4): Raul Jimenez (Atletico Madrid/Spain), Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad/Spain), Javier Hernandez (Real Madrid/Spain), Giovani Dos Santos (Villarreal/Spain)
BELARUS
Goalkeepers (3): Yuri Zhevnov (Torpedo, Russia); Aleksandr Gutor (Dinamo Minsk); Sergei Chernik (BATE Borísov)
Defenders (8): Aleksandr Martynovich (Krasnodar, Russia); Sergei Politevich (Dinamo Minsk); Aleksei Yanushkevich (FC Shakhtyor); Serguey Matveychik (FC Shakhtyor); Denís Polyakov (BATE Borísov); Maksim Volodko (BATE Borísov); Maksim Bordachev (FC Rostov, Russia); Sergei Balanovich (Shakhtyor Soligorsk, Russia)
Midfielders (9): Stanislav Dragun (Samara, Russia); Timofei Kalachev (FC Rostov, Russia); Sergei Kislyak (Rubin Kazan, Russia); Ilya Aleksievich (BATE Borísov); Ígor Stasevich (Dynamo Moscow); Anton Putsila (Torpedo Moscow, Russia); Pavel Nekhaychik (Tomsk, Russia); Sergei Krivets (Metz, France); Mikhail Sivakov (Chernomorets Odessa, Ukraine)
Forwards (3): Nikolai Signevich (BATE Borísov); Sergei Kornilenko (PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara); Mikhail Gordeychuk (BATE Borísov)
