Mexico v Senegal: Osorio believes in youngsters

Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio is confident his inexperienced squad will give a good account of themselves when they take on Senegal in Wednesday’s international friendly.

Osorio will have to make do without star names such as Javier Hernandez, Carlos Vela, Andres Guardado and Hector Moreno because the match does not take place during a FIFA window, with the Mexico boss calling up a group consisting entirely of players from Liga MX.

Promising youngsters Erick Gutierrez, Hirving Lozano and Candido Ramirez could all make their senior debut, while the likes of Henry Martin, Jurgen Damm, Rodolfo Pizarro and Carlos Salcedo are all relatively inexperienced.

Osorio is not too worried about his side’s youthful look, though, and believes he has plenty of quality options heading into the game in Florida.

“There is a great team to be made out of this squad,” Osorio told reporters.

“We have plenty of options in all positions. We could play a 4-3-3 with left-footed players on the left. We have aerial power, a good passing game and plenty of pace.

“I welcome all criticism, but I think in the end all the players are in a great condition. I hope the players can all reach the same level at the national team that they reach at their clubs.

“I think we have a very competitive team with plenty of options.”

Senegal, meanwhile, are also without their biggest stars as Aliou Cisse has named an experimental squad for similar reasons to his opposite number Osorio.

That means Kalidou Koulibaly, Cheikhou Kouyate, Sadio Mane and Diafra Sakho – who all ply their trade in Europe’s top tiers – miss the trip to Florida, with 20-year-olds Nestor Pamipi Mendy, Elimane Oumar Cisse and Dame Gueye all making the cut.

Mexico and Senegal have met only once before, with El Tri recording a 1-0 win in Chicago in May 2010 courtesy of Alberto Medina’s strike.