The Mexican short soccer team, where three players from the State of Mexico participate, is reportedly ready to seek to be the protagonist in the second edition of the Copa América that will take place from May 20 to 24 in Lima, Peru.
11 teams divided into three groups will participate in the contest, in the case of Mexico it was in group three together with Argentina and Ecuador, in the first it is headed by Peru, the selection of the United States and Canada, Colombia and Bolivia, while the two there is Paraguay, Guatemala, Brazil and Morocco.
Miguel Ángel Vázquez Popoca, coach of the team, pointed out that the date and time of the matches have yet to be defined, however the players are ready to face the commitment where Mexico participates for the first time.
“It will be a very fast tournament, at the opening on May 20, Peru will face the United States at 2:00 p.m. and it will be the next day when the other teams start, the two best places in each group will advance and the two best third places ”, said the helmsman.
He explained that at the moment most of the Mexican teams out of a total of 14 already have their ticket and travel on Thursday the 19th, only Ismael Quintero (Chiapas) will leave on the same night on the 20th, the coaching staff is made up of Miguel Ángel Vázquez, Benjamín García Velasco (doctor) and Catalina Userralde (physiotherapist).
The squad is made up of three players from the State of Mexico, two from Nezahualcóyotl (Antonio and Nahum) and Eduardo Ortiz from Ecatepec, the rest are from Veracruz (Michel), Pedro (Oaxaca), Carlos (Sonora), Raymundo (Yucatán), Gustavo (Hidalgo), Cristian (Guanajuato), Ismael (Chiapas), Alexis (Puebla), while Guillermo, Emiliano and Daniel from Mexico City.
The work to reach the highest level was through digital platforms from the exercise plan to the nutritional one, they also had a concentration in Veracruz and Sinaloa, to close with the friendly match against Guatemala in mid-April.
“We were 1-1 in regular time and we defined it on penalties where we won 1-0, a good game with good arrivals from the first half, in the complement they took better advantage of the opportunities to end in a tie in regular time, but a good experience that helped the soccer players to get started”, he added.
The expectations for the Copa América are good, although there are teams that have a good track record as in the case of Paraguay, which is the current champion, as well as Argentina, which is runner-up.
“They are strong rivals, but beyond their history there are players and there are games that must be won, Mexico as a guest team can have a good participation, they have achieved a good level and I think it is time to show it,” concluded the strategist.
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