Mexico vs. Panama: Complete Preview for International Friendly

Mexico have yet to concede a goal since the 2014 World Cup, and after a promising 2-0 win over Honduras, they now prepare to face Panama on Sunday.

Miguel Herrera is expected to rotate his players for Sunday's match to give each and every one of them a chance to shine, and with an eye on the Gold Cup and Copa America in 2015, depth will be one of the main concerns for El Tri in the next few months.

Several issues surfaced against Honduras, and it will be up to the fresh batch of players to sort them. Panama shouldn't be overly challenging opposition, but Herrera will still keep his players sharp to avoid a possible upset.

Date: Sunday, October 12

Time: 10 p.m. BST/5 p.m. ET

Venue: Estadio Corregidora, Queretaro

TV info and live stream: The match will be broadcast on ESPN 2 (for US viewers), with mobile coverage available via the Watch ESPN app.

Preview

Christian Palma/Associated Press

If there's one thing Thursday's match between Mexico and Honduras showed, it's that the CONCACAF is no longer about the USA, El Tri and little else. Honduras gave Mexico a competitive match, and if it weren't for one or two defensive errors, the result could have been very different.

Herrera saw the same thing, via ESPN FC's Tom Marshall:

El Tri will be warned. Panama came dangerously close to qualifying for the 2014 World Cup play-offs ahead of Mexico, conceding two goals in the final 90 seconds against the USA to lose out on a possible tie with New Zealand.

Panama didn't lose a single match at the 2014 Copa Centroamericana, finishing third. The squad may be devoid of star power (just two Europe-based players have been called up for the friendly against El Tri), but La Marea Roja won't make things easy on Sunday.

Mexico may have kept another clean sheet against Honduras, but the defence once again looked shaky. ESPN FC's Cesar Hernandez believes it's an issue the team has to sort out before long:

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For one, were it not for Alanis' goal, there may have been much more criticism for the defense. Alanis, along with Enrique Perez and Julio Cesar "Cata" Dominguez didn't look very confident in Mexico's back line throughout the match. With Hector Moreno injured, Rafael Marquez out of the picture, and Diego Reyes receiving very little playing time, Mexico needs new defenders to step up.

Alanis did so by scoring a goal, but his defensive game was still not at his best. Perez made a couple of runs forward but failed to look composed in the back. Dominguez was guilty of soft clearances in the back and needed to take control of his central position.

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Herrera prefers solid ball-handlers in his patented 5-3-2, like Rafael Marquez, the rock El Tri's defence was built on for the past decade and more. But Marquez did more than just launch swift counter-attacks—his positioning was also superb.

Mexico need to find a balance between the two elements, and Sunday might hand Herrera his first opportunity, as he already confirmed he will "make changes," per Marshall:

El Tri's streak of matches without conceding is bound to end sometime, and per WhoScored.com, Panama have found the back of the net in every fixture they've played in 2014.

The hosts should still come out victorious, however, and more importantly, Herrera should start finding some answers.

Prediction: Mexico 2-1 Panama

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