World Cup 2014 News: El Tri Adds International Friendly Against Israel For May 26 At Estadio Azteca

As they continue preparations for what the nation and its fans hope is a worthwhile trip to Brazil, the Mexican National soccer team announced this week that they’ll play one final game at Estadio Azteca on May 26 against Israel before wrapping up their pre-World Cup schedule with a match against Portugal on June 6 in Massachusetts. El Tri earned a bid to the 2014 World Cup thanks to an extremely impressive two-legged qualifying playoff victory over New Zealand, a triumph that came just as first-year boss Miguel Herrera was beginning to implement his own brand of soccer into a struggling national club.

Opening their World Cup slate on June 13 against Cameroon, El Tri will be tasked with the challenge of advancing out of a talented Group A that includes aforementioned Cameroon along with Croatia and host nation Brazil. While the national team struggled before the appointing of El Piojo as full-time head coach, the 45-year-old boss – who previously served as head coach of Liga MX affiliate Club America – will now look to utilize the talent he has to the best of his advantage while also further evaluating players who are in the running for a roster spot in Brazil.

El Tri played to a 0-0 draw against Nigeria in their most recent friendly but their upcoming schedule will prove to be a bit more difficult. Mexico is set to battle a talented United States squad on April 2 in Glendale, Arizona before battling Ecuador on May 31 in Texas, Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 3 and wrapping up pre-tournament duties with a battle against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal side on June 6 at Gillette Stadium. Following the recent tie with the Nigerian National team, Miguel Herrera noted that he was mostly pleased with his team’s performance, indicating that if they play with strong intensity at the World Cup they should be able to move out of the group stage.

“We have to be more together,' Herrera said. “With one day of work, it's very difficult. We were not able to generate a lot of opportunities. There just wasn't time to prepare. Too many players were in Europe, and they like to play a certain way, but I think if we play like this, we can move on.”