Mexico vs. USA: Top Players to Watch in International Friendly Showdown

It's going to take a lot more than a couple of star players to help the U.S. beat Mexico in Mexico for the first time ever.

That being said, the Americans are going to be without a few of their most precious weapons for Wednesday's friendly. According to the Associated Press, among those who won't be available for the exhibition action are Clint Dempsey, Carlos Bocanegra and Steve Cherundolo.

If the Americans somehow manage to win on Wednesday, it will be their first successful attempt out of 25.

Here's a look at the players who will be most instrumental in the outcome.

Brek Shea

Shea is quickly establishing a reputation as a player who easily flies off the handle, but perhaps a strong showing against Mexico is his opportunity to turn things around for himself.

The 22-year-old has had a rough go of it over the last several months: He's been suspended for kicking a ball at an assistant referee, he's been benched for arguing with a coach and he was part of the squad that failed to qualify for the Olympics, according to the AP.

But Shea also has a lot of potential, which he proved back in 2011, when he tallied 11 league goals. He's been mired in a slump this season—understandable, given his personal woes—but this friendly gives him the ideal opportunity to get things moving on the right track without any pressure.

Landon Donovan

The Galaxy captain will provide the necessary offensive firepower to a U.S. team that badly needs to score early and, preferably, more than once against a team that hasn't lost since February.

As the nation's all-time leader in goals and assists—and with nine goals and 11 assists this season, according to Yahoo! Sports—Donovan stands as good a chance as anyone of getting this team rolling in the right offensive direction.

Speaking of rolling, Donovan has been doing just that lately: Earlier this week, he tallied a career-high four assists in a 4-0 win over Chivas USA on Sunday, according to a different report from Yahoo!.

If he can bring that kind of momentum into Wednesday's friendly, he at least gives the U.S. a chance.

Tim Howard

Mexico isn't a team that allows many goals. In its last 11 games dating back to May 27, it has allowed more than one goal a single time. That was on August 4, in London, in a 4-2 win over Senegal in the Olympics quarterfinals.

It will be essential, therefore, for Tim Howard to be nearly perfect in net. Allowing Mexico a mere one-goal advantage could spell death for the U.S., so Howard must be the best he's been in a long time. He knows he's facing a tough crowd in a tough stadium where the U.S. is 0-19-1, but it's time to put history aside and just play the game of his life.

Even though this matchup doesn't really count, it means a lot to the U.S.

If this group of players can become the first American squad to ever beat Mexico on its home turf, they will go down in history, and that is an opportunity they don't want to pass up.

It all starts with Howard.