International friendly preview: Mexico vs Algeria

Mexico are scheduled to face Algeria in an international friendly in Hague, Netherlands on Tuesday night.

El Tri go into the game on the back of a 1-0 friendly win over the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Arena.

The contest was evenly poised, but El Tri came up with the victory after Raul Jimenez scored from the penalty spot at the hour mark.

Elsewhere, Algeria were also victorious in their recent friendly meeting against fellow African nation Nigeria.

It was a repeat of last year’s African Cup of Nations final and Algeria once again prevailed with a 1-0 win.

Rami Bensebaini scored for the Desert Warriors in the 6th minute of the friendly which was played at the Jacques Lemans Arena in Austria.

Head-to-head meetings:

The nations have meet on the solitary occasion on the international stage and it was more than three decades ago.

Mexico beat Algeria by a 2-0 scoreline during a four-team tournament held in Mexico City in December 1985.

Players to watch out for:

Raul Jimenez – Mexico: Jimenez has become the leader of El Tri’s attack and has taken the scoring mantle from former stars such as Carlos Vela and Javier Hernandez. The 29-year-old has found the consistency in his game since moving to Wolverhampton Wanderers a couple of years ago and he is currently enjoying the best phase of his career.

Jimenez is one of the best when it comes to holding up play and he also has a strong aerial presence in the box. He has netted 25 times from 83 caps for El Tri. Over the past 18 months, he has flourished with nine goals from just 13 outings for the nation. He has also created goals for his teammates. Six of his 12 assists have come since the start of 2019.

Riyad Mahrez – Algeria: Another Premier League-based star, who has made his mark with the national side. Mahrez and Said Benrahma are Algeria’s main creative players, operating on the right and left wing respectively. While Benrahma is only establishing himself, Mahrez needs no introduction.

The Manchester City forward has netted 15 goals and assisted a further 30 from 58 appearances for the reigning African champions. The 29-year-old likes to cut inside from the right flank and has the gifted ability to test the goalkeeper from long-range. El Tri’s backline will need to guard against offering him the space to shoot on goal.

Predicted Score:

Both teams have quality attackers on display. Algeria had gone through a disappointing phase where they failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, but they have since been on an upward curve. Hence, it is difficult to split the teams and we are going for a low-scoring draw.

Mexico 1-1 Algeria

Stats from Transfermarkt.com