GOAL breaks down the line-up Mexico's Gerardo "Tata" Martino should pick against Argentina in a key World Cup bout on Saturday.
Mexico have reached the knockout stage in seven consecutiveWorld Cup tournaments, and with a fan base that always travels well, El Tri traditionally know how to make their mark.
But on current form, they are at risk of being dumped from the competition earlier than they have in more than 30 years.
Two finals defeats to the United States last summer and friendly losses to Paraguay and Sweden in the run-up to the World Cup were a bad omen. A 0-0 draw with Poland to begin their Qatar campaign didn't inspire much hope.
Martino, a manager under immense pressure, must now make quick adjustments to wake up an attack that didn't create enough against Poland, while ensuring a defence bailed out by Guillermo Ochoa's penalty heroics doesn't get ripped apart by an angry Argentina team looking to bounce back from a loss to Saudi Arabia.
Here's how Mexico should approach the Albiceleste – including Martino's decision at striker with Raul Jimenez in an injury-related rut and Henry Martin also struggling:
Getty ImagesGK: Guillermo Ochoa
No doubts here. Ochoa is the man – and a leading face of the national team from a global perspective, having shined so bright at the World Cup before and then again this week against Poland.
This is likely the final World Cup appearance for the 37-year-old, who now plays in Liga MX for America. No matter. When/if Mexico are knocked out, he'll still go down as a king.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLB: Jesus Gallardo
Gallardo started every match at the 2018 World Cup, but he'll be most remembered as the unwanted answer to a trivia question: Who received the fastest yellow card in World Cup history? The full-back was booked in 13 seconds in El Tri's loss to Sweden.
Against Poland, the 28-year-old, who plays club football at Monterrey, made a good start in changing the narrative; he might have been the best field player for his team in the 2022 tournament opener and is locked into his starting spot.
A clash with Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria awaits.
Getty ImagesCB: Hector Moreno
In his fourth World Cup, Moreno remains a sure-fire member of Mexico's back-four, even though he may now be the weakest link.
Moreno struggled in El Tri's final tune-up match against Sweden and then conceded the penalty against Robert Lewandowski against Poland.
Still, it's too late to consider yanking such an experienced defensive anchor from the line-up. He's in the team vs Argentina.
Getty ImagesCB: Cesar Montes
International chemistry can be difficult to build on the fly, so it helps when players are also familiar with one another at club level.
Montes, 25, is Monterrey team-mates with Moreno and Gallardo, giving Mexico a rare World Cup back-line with three defenders of the same club.
He started the friendly defeat to Sweden in central defence alongside Moreno and like Moreno could have done better in that outing. Unlike his partner, though, he appeared more assured against Poland.
Montes is ready to go against Argentina.