CONCACAF Nations League Preview: Mexico vs Honduras | OneFootball

Friday 15th November 2024 marks the first competitive match for Mexico under Javier Aguirre as the 65-year-old returns for a third spell as manager.

El Trí travel to San Pedro Sula, Honduras for the opening leg of the CONCACAF Nations League Quarter Final, before hosting the second leg at the Estadio Nemesio Díez in Toluca.

In the November 2023 fixtures, these two sides met at the same stage of the competition, with Mexico staging a comeback to secure qualification. Honduras took a 2-0 lead into the second leg, but Mexico equalised with goals from Luis Chávez and a dramatic 90+11-minute strike from captain Edson Álvarez. With the score level, extra time couldn’t separate the sides, and the match went to penalties, where El Trí narrowly avoided a shock upset at the Estadio Azteca.

Twelve months on Aguirre has named almost entirely the same squad as the one used in the previous meeting with Honduras. Uriel Antuna and Hirving Lozano are the only absentees as Mexico looks to take care of business in an easy fashion this time around.

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Mexico's Recent Record

Under Javier Aguirre

Aguirre took over in September 2024, replacing former manager Jaime Lozano as Mexico were unable to reach the knockout rounds of the Copa América. Since then, Mexico's record has been:

El Trí head into the game with an unbeaten record under the new manager (three wins, one draw). In the October friendlies, Mexico reaped the rewards of an in-form Raúl Jiménez, who scored and grabbed an assist as El Trí ended a five-year wait for a win against the US.

The four games under Aguirre have also seen a goalscoring side of Pumas winger César Huerta. The 22-year-old is heavily linked with moves to Europe this winter and will be looking to make an impact in the final matches for Mexico in 2024.

Throughout 2024, scoring goals had been El Trí’s main concern. Only one goal was netted during the Copa América (a 1-0 win over Jamaica). In the eight games before Aguirre took charge, Mexico failed to score in four, including a 2-0 Nations League final defeat to the US in March.

At the other end, apart from the Valencia match, Mexico has kept three clean sheets — the same number as in the eight games before Aguirre’s arrival. While the three-time Mexico manager has retained much of the same squad, he has made them harder to break down and more prolific in front of goal.