In the face of constant derision from both fans and club teams with regards to international friendlies, UEFA proposed the adaptation of a UEFA Nations League to replace friendlies. Essentially, instead of playing one-off exhibition matches, all 55 European nations would be divided into four groups, much like a club league system, using prior results to determine which nations would begin in which groups.
The USA, Mexico and Canada have reportedly agreed to submit a joint bid for the 2026 World Cup at the CONCACAF conference this weekend.
21-year-old Pachuca and Mexican international Hirving “Chucky” Lozano has long been a subject of interest for European clubs. The winger has already appeared in over 100 Liga MX matches for his club, and he’s become a regular for El Tri.
Lozano’s form in the 2016 Apertura season, during which he scored seven goals and helped Pachuca finish in second during the regular season, saw him linked with Benfica, Ajax and PSV during the January transfer window.
Mexico took hold of the Hex with a controversial 1-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. Mexico had opportunities to add to their total, but the Soca Warriors will be aggrieved to have had a first half goal incorrectly chalked off for offside.
If everything continues the way it is, the 2018 World Cup will be a 48-team tournament instead of the 32-team format we have now.
Now, how exactly will this expanded world cup tournament work?
Obviously the addition of all of these teams will have to result in reformatting the World Cup process, so the group stage will have 16 groups of three teams each, with the top team moving on from each group. From there on out, the knockout stage will be the same.
Back on October 13, 2013, Panama were on the verge of their first-ever World Cup finals. Needing Costa Rica to defeat Mexico in San Jose was the first part of the equation, but the more daunting task was the one facing them — they’d have to defeat the United States in Panama City.
With the United States having already qualified as Hexagonal winners, a largely second-string American team gave Panama the conviction that history could be made on the day. Panama took an early lead through Gabriel Torres, only to be pegged back by American defender Michael Orozco.
Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez equalled Jared Borgetti’s all-time goalscoring record for Mexico by scoring his 46th goal in his 89th match. Coincidentally, that’s the exact same record as Borgetti.
| #UDEliminatorias: GOOOOOOL. Al 7', 'Chicharito' abre el marcador para México. https://t.co/h92Y13ly9L pic.twitter.com/PpK3ty8Jxn
For the United States, injuries to DeAndre Yedlin and Fabian Johnson have severely limited the team’s strength in the wide areas. Meanwhile, Mexico must do without Marco Fabian, Jesus Corona, Giovani dos Santos, Hirving Lozano and Javier Aquino — as well as the continued absence of Paul Aguilar.
But their squad for upcoming qualifiers against Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago in the Hex demonstrates their embarrassment of riches when compared to the rest of the region.