Mexico announces friendlies in Atlanta, San Diego
Mexico will play friendly games against Venezuela in Atlanta on June 24 and Guatemala in San Diego in June 28, Soccer United Marketing announced Thursday.
The match comprises the last half of the national team's 2009 four-match tour of the U.S.
Mexico's match against Venezuela will be historic. El Tri will play Venezuela at the Georgia Dome and will be Mexico's first-ever game in Atlanta. The closest El Tri has been to playing in Atlanta was the Under-23 national team's participation in the 1996 Summer Olympics, although Mexico did not play any games in the state of Georgia.
Meanwhile, Mexico will return to San Diego for the third consecutive year. Mexico fell to Argentina at Qualcomm Stadium 4-1 in June but knocked off Venezuela there by a 3-1 score in February 2007.
The two games will be the first action for Javier Aguirre on American soil since he returned to El Tri earlier this month. Aguirre has coached in San Diego with El Tri before, leading Mexico to a 4-0 friendly win over Albania in March 2002.
The games will also be sandwiched around some important competition. Aguirre will debut with Mexico on June 6 in El Salvador and will host Trinidad and Tobago four days later in World Cup qualifying.
On July 5, Mexico will open its CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign against Nicaragua in Oakland, Calif. Earlier this year, Mexico lost 1-0 to Sweden and beat Bolivia 5-1 in friendly matches on U.S. soil. --Goal.com