Mexico will take on Serbia at Estadio Nemesio Diez on Friday in their final preparation match ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Mexico head into the encounter in impressive form, having recorded five wins and two draws from their last seven matches. Their latest outing ended in a 1-0 victory over Australia as confirmed on the national teams official x handle, with Johan Vásquez scoring the decisive goal to secure another positive result for Javier Aguirre’s side.
As one of the three host nations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Mexico will open the tournament against South Africa on June 11 before facing South Korea and Czech Republic in the group stage. With home support behind them and momentum on their side, El Tri will be eager to continue their strong run heading into football’s biggest competition.
Serbia arrive with a far less convincing record. Veljko Paunović’s side have managed just three wins from their last eight matches while suffering five defeats during that period. Their struggles ultimately saw them miss out on qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after finishing third in their qualifying group, narrowly behind Albania.
Although Serbia secured a victory over Saudi Arabia during the March international window, they were beaten 3-0 by Cape Verde in their most recent friendly, increasing pressure on the squad to respond positively against Mexico.
Friday’s match offers Mexico one final opportunity to fine-tune preparations before the World Cup begins, while Serbia will hope to restore confidence with a surprise result away from home.
Team News
Aguirre made 11 changes during his side’s 1-0 win against Australia, and the manager may opt to start with the team that featured throughout the second half of that match.
As a result, captain Edson Alvarez could be replaced by Cesar Montes and Jesus Gomez in central defence, while a front four of Cesar Huerta, Gilberto Mora, Julian Quinones and Santiago Gimenez could start.
Meanwhile, Paunovic is also anticipated to make wholesale changes following Serbia’s lacklustre loss to Cape Verde.
The likes of Nikola Simic, Lazar Randelovic and Ognjen Mimovic could, therefore, be part of the changed starting team.
Possible Lineups
Mexico possible starting lineup:
Ochoa; Reyes, Montes, Gomez, Gallardo; Vargas, Lira; Huerta, Mora, Quinones; Gimenez
Serbia possible starting lineup:
F Stankovic; Mimovic, Simic, Pavlovic, Avdic; Petrovic, A Stankovic; Zivkovic, Zukic, Randelovic; Ivanovic
How to Watch
| Platform | Details |
|---|---|
| TV Broadcast | SuperSport 9, beIN SPORTS |
| Live Stream | DSTV Stream |
| Kick-off Time | 03:00am (WAT) |
Match Predictions
Softfootball predicts Mexico 2-0 Serbia
Mexico will have the full support of the home crowd, are in superior form and will be eager to maintain their current run ahead of the World Cup getting underway, leading us to expect a win for the hosts.
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