FIFA Confederations Cup 2013: Top 5 players to watch out for when Mexico play Japan

Mexico and Japan do not have much to play for except pride on Saturday as both teams have been evicted from the competition after their losses to Italy and Brazil. Group A has turned out as expected without any upsets; and as disappointing as that might be for the neutral, it will contribute for a really competitive end to the tournament. While Japan had something to take away from their enthralling fixture against Italy, Mexico have been lacklustre in both their games. Their midfield has lacked teeth even when they have potential goal-scorers standing at the head of the pitch in Chicharito and Giovani Dos Santos.

Mexico coach Jose Manuel de la Torre seemed confident in his shoes in spite of the results and their below-par performance in the World Cup qualifiers. He said, “Whatever the result against Japan, it won’t lose me the support of my players or my bosses [at the Mexican FA]. For the sake of our pride, we really want to win this game. We don’t want to bow out without any points, particularly since our aims [for this competition] had been so different.” Whatever these aims were, as of now Mexico face the terrible possibility of going down against Japan, who have looked a much better side. History favours El Tri as they have three consecutive victories against the Samurai Blue; but they will need drastic change to maintain that record.

Here is a list of five players who can influence the result of the game:

5. Chicharito

The Manchester United striker has suffered from the same problem in both the group games that Mexico has played. He is not given any service at the head of the formation; as a result, he is usually receiving passes in the the middle of the pitch and trying to work an offensive move from there. There has been nothing lacking about his movement or work rate on the pitch. He just has not been given an opportunity to add to his tally of 33 goals for the national side. The likes of Gerardo Torrado and Jose Andres Guardado need to take more responsibility.