El Tri: Why Mexico Will Win the 2015 Gold Cup

Mexico will play against Cuba, Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago in the group stage of the 2015 Gold Cup.

Overall, it seems like a fairly easy group. As long as the players take it seriously and don't show overconfidence, El Tri should qualify to the knockout stage with no problems.

Cuba barely qualified to the tournament after they finished fourth in the Caribbean Cup. Furthermore, all of their footballers play in the local league and are veterans.

Guatemala depends a lot on Marco Pappa, who last year proved his worth in the MLS. He appeared 33 times in 2014 and put the ball away six times. He also managed to create 45 goal opportunities, per Squawka.

Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago will bring their speed and strength to the pitch hoping that it will be enough to make a difference.

Mexico needs to win if they want to appear in the playoff match against the United States, in which they'll battle to decide what side will attend the 2017 Confederations Cup.

So what happens after El Tri reach the quarterfinals?

If they advance as group winners, then they'll face one of the best third places of the competition, which most likely won't be United States or Costa Rica.

That leaves us with Canada, Panama, El Salvador, Jamaica, Haiti or Honduras/Guiana. From those, Honduras is the side that could make El Tri sweat the most.

They have faced each other 29 times, in which Mexico have won 17, tied six and lost six.

In the semifinals, they would face Costa Rica. This would be Mexico's toughest match after having played four games.

If nothing weird happens, then El Tri will play against the United States in the final showdown. A victory for the hosts would automatically give them the Confederations Cup ticket.

Silvia izquierdo/Associated Press

Miguel Herrera will probably take a squad that will look a lot like the one he used in last summer's World Cup.

Sure, the coach also has to worry about the Copa America, but the CONMEBOL competition won't give El Tri a spot in the Confederations Cup, and the Mexican Football Federation really wants to see the team there.

Last week, Hector Gonzalez Inarritu, director of national teams, said in a press conference that winning the tournament was an obligation, per Mexican news agency Notimex (in Spanish).

Having said that, expect to see almost every European-based footballer, maybe even all of them.

These players have already proven to make a wonderful squad. They understand what the coach expects from them, which also means they will probably need little time to adjust to playing together.

This is especially important since Herrera will only have the chance to cap them later this month.

Although El Tri will have several warm-ups ahead of the Gold Cup, there is only one FIFA date, in which Mexico will face Ecuador and Paraguay.

For other meetings, El Piojo will have to take Liga MX players.

With a replica of the 2014 World Cup team, Mexico would arrive in the United States with the best squad they have had since the 2011 edition, which they won.

It's a new generation of players with a lot of passion for the game. They have what it takes to stun the host and then think of the playoff that could gave them the chance to play in Russia in 2017.

El Tri's versatile style of play, full of speed and verticality, will be key in securing the title.

This will be a very different squad from the one that played the 2013 edition and from the one that appeared in the 2013 Hexagonal.

Little by little, Herrera has managed to reinvent the squad. And it seems he's not finished yet.

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