Mexico, Costa Rica announce rosters to begin Hex

With just over a week to go until the United States men’s national team begin the final phase of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, their first two opponents have named their rosters for the upcoming matches.

The USA’s first test is against their biggest rivals when Mexico come to Columbus on Friday, November 11. They have named a full strength roster with the likes of Giovani dos Santos, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, and Carlos Vela.

Here’s their full roster:

Goalkeepers (3): Francisco Guillermo Ochoa Magaña (Granada), Alfredo Talavera Díaz (Toluca), José de Jesús Corona Rodríguez (Cruz Azul)

Defenders (8): Rafael Márquez Álvarez (Atlas), Néstor Alejandro Araujo Razo (Santos), Diego Antonio Reyes Rosales (Espanyol), Héctor Alfredo Moreno Herrera (PSV Eindhoven), Oswaldo Alanis Pantoja (Guadalajara), Hugo Ayala Castro (Tigres), Carlos Joel Salcedo Hernández (Fiorentina), Miguel Arturo Layún Prado (Porto)

Midfielders (7): Jonathan Dos Santos Ramírez (Villarreal), Orbelín Pineda Alvarado (Guadalajara), Jesús Alberto Dueñas Manzo (Tigres), José Andrés Guardado Hernández (PSV Eindhoven), Héctor Miguel Herrera López (Porto), Giovani Dos Santos Ramírez (LA Galaxy), Marco Jhonfai Fabián de la Mora (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Forwards (7): Raúl Alonso Jiménez Rodríguez (Benfica), Hirving Rodrigo Lozano Bahena (Pachuca), Jesús Manuel Corona Ruíz (Porto), Javier Ignacio Aquino Carmona (Tigres), Oribe Peralta Morones (América), Javier Hernández Balcazar (Bayer Leverkusen), Carlos Alberto Vela Garrido (Real Sociedad)

After the clash in Columbus, the United States must travel to San Jose, Costa Rica for a very tough away test against the Ticos. History isn’t on the Americans’ side as they haven’t fared very well at all in this fixture. They’ll be hoping to scrape and craw out a draw to take at least a point home.

They’ve also named a really good team with a returning Keylor Navas who is back from injury. Here’s their full squad:

Goalkeepers (3): Keylor Navas (Real Madrid), Patrick Pemberton (Alajuelense) Esteban Alvarado (Trabzonspor)

Defenders (9): Johnny Acosta (Herediano), Kendall Waston (Vancouver Whitecaps), Michael Umana (Alajuelense) Francisco Calvo (Saprissa), Cristian Gamboa (Celtic) Ronald Matarrita (New York City FC), Bryan Oviedo (Everton), Jose Salvatierra (Alajuelense) Pablo Salazar (Herediano).

Midfielders (8): Randall Azofeifa (Herediano), Celso Borges (Deportivo La Coruna), Yeltsin Tejeda (Lausanne), David Guzman (Saprissa), Bryan Ruiz (Sporting Lisbon), Cristian Bolanos (Vancouver Whitecaps), Johan Venegas (Montreal Impact), Rodney Wallace (Recife)

Forwards (3): Joel Campbell (Sporting Lisbon), Ariel Rodríguez (Bangkok Glass), Marco Uren (Brondby)