Mexico, co-host of the 2026 International Cup, concludes its two-game tour of the Southern United States on Tuesday, when it faces River Plate in a global friendly.
Mexico is coming off a 2-0 win over Brazilian club Internacional on Thursday, opening its 2025 schedule on good notice. Head coach Javier Aguirre is working exclusively with a Liga MX-based squad for the friendlies at this time, as they do not fall in a FIFA window, giving him a great opportunity to amplify the player pool as the road to the Cup continues. International. Tuesday’s match against Argentine heavyweight River Plate will offer another opportunity as competition for squad places in 2026 intensifies.
Here’s what you need to know before you tune in.
The right way to monitor
- Past: Tuesday January 21 | Was: 3 pm Eastern Time
- Location: Enorme Stadium — Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Notice: Univision, TUDN, ViX
Why does Mexico enjoy membership groups?
This will be the third friendly in three months that Mexico has scheduled against club teams, due to usual scheduling limitations. Most FIFA world windows, including the 2026 International Cup, are reserved for qualifying matches, which Mexico and its fellow 2026 co-hosts the United States and Canada will not want to participate in. This makes scheduling friendlies important. complicated: The US men’s team, for example, had to cancel its plans to host England in the summer as the Three Lions’ qualifying schedule turned out the way it did, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
While the United States and Canada were able to rack up friendlies against other national teams, Mexico has filled its schedule with games against clubs. Valencia had a nice October to gain visibility with its Mexican fan base, and the El Tri generation traveled to the southern United States with one of the largest golf club sites on the continent hosting them.
Prediction
River Plate is still in preseason form, which could suit Mexico’s players well. Just like El Tri did in Brazil on Thursday, they are expected to return with another victory to close out their January camp. Choose: River Plate 0, Mexico 2
