The Concacaf Nations League Finals will finally begin with exciting semifinal matchups. Mexico and Costa Rica will battle for a place in the grand final at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver following Honduras and USMNT's clash. Here woul will find the starting lineups of both national teams.
El Tricolor head to this game as frontrunners to be crowned in the inaugural edition of the tournament. Gerardo Martino's side has already beaten Los Ticos in March for an international friendly, and it is expected to be doing so again in this match. Costa Rica head to this game weakened with injured players and Covid positives. However, Ronald González's boys will try to upset the favorites.
Both national teams have a long history of facing each other. They have met 55 times, with Mexico proving to be dominant with 31 wins, while Costa Rica claimed only six victories, and they've tied in 18 matches.
Costa Rica's confirmed lineup in Concacaf Nations League semifinals
Los Ticos have been hit in the last few days with a Covid outbreak and injuries. Up to six players were ruled out for this crucial game, including many starters. Luis Díaz and Barlon Sequeira were the latest ones to be sidelined both for this game and the subsequent friendly against the USMNT.
Before them, Felicio Brown, Kendall Waston, Ronald Matarrita, and Yael López were also ruled out. Moreover, Gonzalez will also have to find an adequate replacement for Keylor Navas, who won't be featuring in this window. This is how Costa Rica will line up:
Moreira; Fuller, Duarte, Calvo, Bryan Oviedo; Joel Campbell, Yeltsin Tejeda, Bryan Ruiz, Oviedo; Leal and Alonso Martínez.
Mexico's confirmed starting XI for Concacaf Nations League semifinals
Gerardo Martino will have to decide who will fill Raúl Jiménez's shoes as Mexico's No. 9. The Argentine coach doesn't lack in options to make that call, but there are two names in contention for that vacancy. Club América's Henry Martín or Sporting Kansas City's Alan Pulido will lead El Tri's attack.
Moreover, with Jesús 'Tecatito' Corona presumably unavailable for a bit longer, promising midfield Diego Lainez might see first-team action after having a good performance in the friendly against Iceland. With powerful names including Hirving Lozano, this will be Mexico's starting eleven to face Costa Rica:
Guillermo Ochoa; Araujo, Hector Moreno, Gerardo Arteaga; Edson Álvarez, Andrés Guardado, Héctor Herrera, Diego Lainez; Hirving Lozano, Henry Martín, Uriel Antuna.
