(Getty)
Mexico is no stranger to the Copa America. Although the country doesn’t belong to the CONMEBOL (the South American soccer confederation), Mexico has been invited to most of the tournaments. The country has never won the tournament, but was a runner-up in 1993 and 2001. Most recently, Mexico faced Colombia in the finals of the 2001 Copa America and lost 1-0, thanks to a header from legendary defender Ivan Ramiro Cordoba.
Always the dark horse, with its “si se puede” attitude on the field and in the stands, Mexico will look to finally take a championship home with the combined strength of players such as forward Raul Jimenez from Atletico Madrid and veteran captain Rafa Marquez. No sign of star forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez this year, and we’ll have to see if that will affect Mexico’s perfomance in the long run.
The full squad lineup is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Jose Corona (Cruz Azul), Alfredo Talavera (Toluca), Meliton Hernandez (Veracruz)
Defenders: George Corral (Queretaro), Gerardo Flores (Cruz Azul), Rafael Marquez (Verona), Hugo Ayala (UANL), Julio Dominguez (Cruz Azul), Carlos Salcedo (Guadalajara), Miguel Angel Herrera (Pachuca), Adrian Aldrete (Santos Laguna), Efrain Velarde (Monterrey)
Midfielders: Mario Osuna (Queretaro), Juan Carlos Medina (Atlas), Javier Guemez (Tijuana), Jesus Manuel Corona (FC Twente), Javier Aquino (Rayo Vallecano), Luis Montes (Leon), Marco Fabian (Guadalajara)
Forwards: Raul Jimenez (Atletico Madrid), Eduardo Herrera (UNAM), Enrique Esqueda (UANL), Vicente Matias Vuoso (Chiapas)
