Preview: Mexico vs Australia - prediction, team news, lineups

Playing in their second-to-last match before the 2026 World Cup, Mexico and Australia will meet in a friendly at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Saturday.

Last Friday, El Tri blanked Ghana 2-0, while the Aussies' previous friendly saw them crush upcoming World Cup debutants Curacao 5-1.

Match preview

We are in the final stretch of matches before the 2026 finals, with Saturday’s affair being the last opportunity for Mexican players to impress Javier Aguirre before he names his squad.

The veteran manager, who will coach this team for a third time at the World Cup, has yet to lose a match this year, winning four of his six games in charge in 2026.

Throughout the year, the Mexicans have been incredibly well-organised and poised at the back, conceding just once in their last six internationals.

On the other hand, they have failed to win their last five international affairs on American soil, losing in two of those previous three instances.

In his third stint as manager, Aguirre has never lost a match in which his side drew first blood, with the last Mexican coach to lose in that scenario being Jaime Lozano in a 2023 friendly versus Colombia (3-2).

Mexico have failed to win five of their last six outings versus teams who compete in Asia, with their only victory over that stretch coming in the Gold Cup quarter-finals last year against Saudi Arabia (2-0).

After a rough end to 2025, Tony Popovic should be feeling much better about his Australian squad heading into the home stretch before the World Cup.

The Socceroos lost their final three matches of 2025 but will enter this weekend’s friendly on a two-game winning run, scoring six times while allowing just one goal over that stretch.

They have lost their last three games played on American soil and have not won a match in the US this century.

Their seven international triumphs since the start of 2025 all occurred when netting first, while they only suffered one defeat in that scenario over that stretch, losing 2-1 to the USA in an October friendly.

Australia have gone on to win two of their last three matches versus CONCACAF opposition, with their previous victory on North American soil coming in Montreal last October against Canada (1-0).

Two of the last three meetings against Mexico went the way of the Socceroos, while the Aussies have only suffered one defeat in seven previous meetings with El Tri, losing 3-0 in 1970.

Mexico International Friendlies form:

Australia International Friendlies form:

Team News

Mexican captain Edson Alvarez could get more playing time after returning from an ankle issue last week, Marcel Ruiz is out with a torn ACL, as is Luis Malagon, who ruptured his Achilles.

At the same time, Raul Jimenez and Santiago Gimenez could be rested because of an illness and a sore ankle, respectively.

Brian Gutierrez and Guillermo Martinez scored in their victory over Ghana last week, the second and third, respectively for them with the senior squad.

On the Australian side of things, Riley McGree has been ruled out of the World Cup after suffering a hamstring strain for Middlesbrough in their promotional playoff versus Hull City and Hayden Matthews has a knock

A quad strain has the status of Patrick Yazbek in doubt, while Nicholas D'Agostino has departed this camp because of a leg injury.

Nestory Irankunda notched a brace in their lopsided triumph over Curacao, with Awer Mabil, Alessandro Circati and Jordan Bos also scoring on that occasion.

Mexico possible starting lineup:

Rangel; Sanchez, Montes, Vasquez, Gallardo; Ed. Alvarez, Romo; Pineda, Chavez, Quinones; Berterame

Australia possible starting lineup:

Ryan; Italiano, Trewin, Circati, Degenek, Rowles; Metcalfe, O’Neill, Robertson, Mabil; Boyle

We say: Mexico 1-0 Australia

The Socceroos can suffocate opponents with their defensive approach, but Mexico are a patient side that rarely get frustrated against those teams, and we expect their individual quality will eventually shine through.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.