Mexico vs. Ivory Coast: Live Stream and Preview for Exciting Friendly

International soccer is headed towards East Rutherford, New Jersey as Mexico and the Ivory Coast will battle on the pitch at MetLife Stadium on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.

This is a friendly match, but one that both sides appear keen on winning. With a few notable exceptions, these two teams will be sending their A squad. 

The most notable is that of Javier Hernandez. However, Chicharito was originally going to play but was left behind while dealing with an injury. 

This is not a great time for Mexican coach José Manuel “Chepo” de la Torre to be without Chicharito's scoring prowess. Mexico's offense has been abysmal and de la Torres has to be counting his lucky stars that this hasn't already cost him his job. 

Consider that through six CONCACAF matches, El Tri has just one win and five draws. That's not all, either. El Tri has slogged through an early exit at the Confederations Cup and was bounced in the semifinals of the Gold Cup. 

At this point, it looks like the Mexican Soccer Federation is content on sticking with Chepo until the end of their World Cup cycle. However, if Mexico doesn't start turning things around quickly, that cycle will be quickly coming to an end.

This friendly against Ivory Coast, who sit two spots ahead of Mexico at No. 18 in the world rankings, will be a great opportunity to prove they are ready to turn things around.

Check out the vitals for this match, and then I'll offer up a few players I'll be paying extra attention to, and a prediction.

When: Aug. 14 at 9 p.m. ET

Where: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey

TV Coverage: ESPN 2

Live Stream: ESPN3.com

Players to Watch

Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)

For a 35-year-old international veteran such as Didier Drogba, there wouldn't typically be a lot of importance on a friendly like this. However, after the Ivory Coast disappointingly bowed out of the Africa Cup of Nations in the quarterfinals, Drogba was given time away from the national team. 

This match will be his chance of redemption, and to prove that he is the striker this team needs heading into the World Cup. 

This will be his first international action since the Africa Cup, and Drogba has looked to be in good form in preseason action with Galatasaray. He will now be pressing to make a big impression in this match. 

Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast)

Wilfried Bony is a goal-scoring machine. He's big, fast and powerful. He shredded the Eredivisie last season with 31 goals.  

It was a bit of a shock that he didn't garner more interest in the transfer window and eventually landed with Swansea City, but that is of little consequence for this match.

Well, other than its part in the insane amount of travel Bony will be experiencing this week. 

I'm sure Mexico wouldn't mind if all that travel wore him out a bit. 

Bony will likely be coming off the bench here behind Drogba, and this match is an excellent chance to audition the two for the starting striker role as we near the World Cup.  

Marco Fabian (Mexico)

One of the few bright spots to come out of the Gold Cup for El Tri was the play of Marco Fabian. The 24-year-old midfielder is still finding his way with the senior club, but he was given a shot at extended runs in the Gold Cup, and he produced. 

Fabian had three goals in five Gold Cup matches. This is doubly impressive considering Mexico's struggles to net any scores as of late. 

This is a golden opportunity for Fabian to cement himself into the El Tri lineup. This team needs playmakers to step up, and as Fabian is starting to show, he has the ability to be that serious playmaker.

Prediction: Ivory Coast 2, Mexico 0

The Ivory Coast is going to dominate possession, and they have far too much firepower to be kept out of the goal when that happens. Maybe this will be the match where El Tri puts it all together under Chepo, but I'm certainly not counting on it. This will be another disappointing outing for El Tri.