After plenty of injuries, a couple of late controversial penalty calls and a suspension for Carlos Vela, Mexico have somehow found a way into the Gold Cup final.
Despite missing a handful of options from the roster, El Tri is still expected to find a convincing win against Jamaica on Sunday night. Due to the injuries and Carlos Vela's suspension, Mexico manager Miguel "Piojo" Herrera may give a few new faces a start in the tournament's final match in Philadelphia.
Considering the lacklustre play from recent matches, Herrera and the squad should be desperate to not only win the title, but have a good showing. In the past couple of weeks, there's been plenty of criticism surrounding the team and there has been no lack of questions over the penalty calls that pushed Mexico to this stage.
Can El Tri earn a title and a playoff spot for the Confederations Cup?
Here are five things to watch for from Mexico in Sunday night's Gold Cup final:
1. Oribe Peralta and El Tri's second striker
When Mexico's Gold Cup roster was first announced, El Tri fans originally had high hopes for the numerous striker options and combinations. Against Costa Rica in a friendly last month, Herrera utilized a dream strike-force with Vela, Javier Hernandez and Giovani dos Santos all taking charge.
Now, a few weeks later, Mexico will be without at least two of those three players in Sunday's final. Due to his broken collarbone, Hernandez has missed out on the entire tournament and recently re-joined Manchester United's camp. Vela, on the other hand, garnered one too many yellow cards and is suspended for the match. As for Dos Santos, the striker is doubtful after injuring an abductor muscle during the group stage.
This likely leaves El Tri with Oribe Peralta and either Javier Orozco or Jesus Manuel "Tecatito" Corona. With an increase in minutes during recent games, Tecatito seems to have an advantage over Orozco as Peralta's partner up top. The 22 year-old is a catalyst in the attack and has the abilities to become Mexico's hero on Sunday.
2. Mexico's new midfield
The injury problems for El Tri may also hinder Herrera from utilizing his best midfield. Although both players trained with the squad on Saturday, there are slight doubts over the health of Jonathan dos Santos and team captain Andres Guardado. Considering the excellent performances that each has given, El Tri may not be able to afford an omission from either player on the starting XI.
There is also a chance that Hector Herrera may be left out of the starting line-up. The 25-year-old has arguably been one of the squad's worst players in the Gold Cup and has yet to have a decent showing this month. Will Porto's player of the season be given another chance on Sunday? If not, an option like Jesus Duenas might be given the start.
3. Defensive worries continuing into the final
Despite the number of problems in the attack and midfield, Mexico's true weak point is in the defense. Without the injured Hector Moreno, El Tri's defense has looked paper-thin in the Gold Cup. Francisco Javier Rodriguez and Diego Reyes have both struggled in the backline and are now without another injured defender, Yasser Corona.
Oswaldo Alanis stepped in Corona's place during Mexico's semifinal and emerged as the squad's best defender of the night. That being said, the question still remains whether El Tri's defense can stop a restless striker like Giles Barnes.
Jamaica haven't been a goal-scoring machine in the past few weeks, but should be able to give the Mexico backline plenty of headaches.
4. A goal without a penalty call
Here's an unfortunate statistic for El Tri: The squad's past three goals have all come off penalty kicks. To say that Mexico's recent finishing has been terrible might be an understatement.
Since his hat trick against Cuba on July 9th, Peralta hasn't been able to score another goal. The veteran has constantly missed simple opportunities on net. Vela couldn't do any better during the knockout stage and mirrored Peralta's poor finishing. With Peralta struggling as of late, El Tri may have to rely on either Dos Santos, Orozco or Tecatito for goals.
As mentioned earlier, Tecatito appears the most likely candidate to support Peralta. The youngster has shown moments of brilliance off the bench and could potentially have a "golden" opportunity for a start in the final.
Can a Peralta-Tecatito partnership finally help Mexico score?
5. Injuries, injuries, injuries
It's hard to ignore the number of missing players for Mexico. Taking into account earlier injuries/suspensions, and assuming that doubtful options won't make Sunday's game, El Tri may play the Gold Cup final without the following players: Moreno, Hernandez, Corona, Guardado, Vela and the Dos Santos brothers.
It's a worrying list for Mexico's most important match of the year so far. Even if Guardado and the Dos Santos brothers do end up being healthy enough to play, each player may not be at his best after recovering from slight knocks.
Herrera has admitted to the media that he and the rest of the players are exhausted from the tournament, and it has truly shown by some of the injuries.
It will be interesting to see which options are healthy enough to give Mexico a fighting chance for the Gold Cup title.