Summary:
The road to Germany in the qualifying process was rather easy for the Mexican squad. They open the six-team round with an important victory in San Jose.
The road to Germany in the qualifying process was rather easy for the Mexican squad. They open the six-team round with an important victory in San Jose over the Costa Rica National Team, one of the fiercest rivalries in the CONCACAF. After that the whole eliminatory went as smooth as anyone would expected except for the loss against USA in American soil.
The Mexican team has been showing a great soccer level over the past decade where they've been in the top ten of the FIFA World Rankin in many opportunities and more recently since 2005 in the top five.
Their recent participation in the 2005 FIFA Confederation Cup puts all eyes on them. They beat the World Champions Brazil in a dramatic game 1-0 in their favor. They put up quite a fight in the semi-finals against Argentina only to lose with a dubious penalty against them. After that they match Germany in the game for the third place and loss in extra time 4-3.
Mexico announced the final 23 man squad that will be traveling to Germany including foreign-born Antonio Naelson and Guillermo Franco; plus La Volpe's son-in-law Rafael Garcia. On the other hand, there has been no place for Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who many regard as the country's top player at the age of 33.
Holland is considered to be one of the finest teams in the world yet to win a World Cup. Their best participations were in 1974 and 1978 when they were runner-ups in both occasions; they also won the European Championship in 1988.
The Dutch can point to some impressive results in qualifying for this edition. Former star striker van Basten has rejuvenated the national squad since replacing the experienced Dick Advocaat following the Netherlands' semi-final exit at UEFA EURO 2004.
They will face Mexico on home soil to prepare before Germany. With a great team this year they are one of the favorites to contend the Championship in this year edition. Players like Van Nistelrooy, Van Persie, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and veteran Phillip Cocu will take this team very far in the Tournament; mostly if they keep playing like they did in the qualifying round.
This friendly match between these two great teams will be an exciting one and most sportsbooks will have a line for the match. So if you like sport betting this is a great opportunity to bet on this beautiful sport.