Mexico will play Cuba on Thursday night in the Gold Cup 2015 tournament as both teams look to get their campaigns off to a winning start. Mexico will be big favorites for this one, but they have been in poor form recently and will need to snap out of their funk if they are to go all the way in the Gold Cup as their fans expect. Today's opening game for these teams has a start time of 9.30 p.m. ET and can be watched on TV on the Fox Sports 1 network, or online through live stream via the link below.
Mexico have struggled badly recently, and things have gone from bad to worse as they have lost two of their star players to injury ahead of the tournament.
However, Cuba should be a team that even if they play below par, they should be able to defeat. These two teams met at the group stages of the 2011 competition and at that time Mexico ran out 5-0 winners.
In that game Javier Hernandez and Giovani dos Santos both scored a brace, but this time around Hernandes is injured and will miss the game.
Hector Moreno joins Hernandez on the sidelines after a foot injury, and Mexico don't have enough depth in their squad to easily replace two players of their caliber.
Moreno has been a stable presence in the Mexico defense for years, playing in all four of Mexico's World Cup games in Brazil last year, and without his experience at center back they could struggle against some of the better teams. He will be replaced by either Oswaldo Alanis or Miguel Angel Herrera, neither who have anywhere near the skill or experience as Moreno.
Up front, Hernandez's absence means they will rely more heavily on Giovani dos Santos and Carlos Vela, two players who have not had a long history of playing together to build the kind of close rapport teams want to see in their attacking players as they come into major competitions.
For Cuba their preparations have been thrown into disarray somewhat after forward Keilen Garcia did not show up for the team's breakfast on Wednesday. The absence immediately sparked reports that he may have defected and disappeared. In addition, Cuba's head coach and six more of their players will not even arrive into Chicago until Thursday - the day of the game.
Today's big Gold Cup 2015 game between Mexico and Cuba has a start time of 9.30 p.m. ET and can be watched on TV on the Fox Sports 1 network or online through live stream by clicking here.
