Account
Mexico vs. Bahrain: 2019 Toulon Tournament Live Stream, Schedule and Prediction
June 2, 2019
Mexico will face Bahrain in their opening match of the 2019 Toulon Tournament and will have eyes on the top prize after they finished runners-up to England last year.
Group C will be the last of this year's pools to get under way in France. The timing of the 2019 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Poland means El Tri are among the numerous teams that have seen their squads weakened.
However, Mexico will still be favourites to beat the Asian representatives, but their first match of the competition may not be the walkover one might expect of the 2018 silver medallists.
Date: Monday, June 3
Time: 6 p.m. BST/1 p.m. ET
Venue: Stade de Lattre-de-Tassigny, Aubagne
Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect (U.S.)
Preview
Most teams competing in this year's Toulon Tournament are using under-22 squads as opposed to the traditional under-21s, and Mexico under-23 coach Jaime Lozano is the man responsible for his side's selection.
Lozano was appointed to the role in December, and numerous stars in his squad already boast Liga MX experience:
Santos Laguna forward Eduard Aguirre, 20, was top scorer at last year's Toulon Tournament with seven goals, and he will hope to get Mexico back into the final 12 months on with another prolific return.
Bahrain will also be wary of Guadalajara striker Ronaldo Cisneros, 22, who scored eight times in 10 appearances for Mexico's under-20 team.
One face Bahrain will be happy not to encounter, however, is that of Diego Lainez. The Mexican prodigy, 19, moved to Real Betis from Club America in January but is young enough to play a role in his country's Under-20 World Cup campaign and will be absent in Toulon as a result.
Lainez will be a big miss for Lozano's side after he took such a grip on last year's run to second in France:
Bahrain, on the other hand, are not competing in the Under-20 World Cup and are thus at full strength for their first fixture of the tournament.
They will be hopeful of capitalising on Mexico's recent misery; El Tri's final warm-up fixture ended with a 5-1 defeat against the Netherlands on Friday, as ESPN FC's Tom Marshall highlighted:
El Tri should still have enough talent to take three points in their opener—even with a mishmash squad—but it may not be the walkover one might expect at first glance.
Prediction: Mexico 2-0 Bahrain