Mexico vs Qatar Prediction: Will the Mexicans allow themselves to relax?

Prediction for the match between Mexico and Qatar, which will take place on July 3. Check the team conditions and choose several betting options.

Mexico changed their head coach just a week before the start of the continental competition. Perhaps the effect of newness and the fact that a Mexican (Jaime Lozano) was the coach for the first time since 2015 gave the team a strong start to the group stage. The 4:0 win over Honduras saw Mexico claim a convincing 3:1 victory over Haiti in the second leg. In the second contest against Haiti, who had been locked in a head-to-head game with their arch-rivals, Mexico scored 32 goals, 10 of which came on target.

They were 7:1 after two rounds and finished first in the group - a magnificent result. However, the main games for Mexico at the tournament are still to come.

Qatar is still unquestionably the tournament's main underdog. In the first round, the Qataris faced a team from Haiti and, with the score at 1:1, conceded on 90+7 and lost 1:2. In the second round, Qatar faced Honduras. The team took an early 1:0 lead in the game's opening stages and then competed smartly without giving their opponents any real scoring chances. But on 90+6, the ball inexplicably found its way to the feet of a Honduran player right on the Qatari goalkeeper's line. He sent the ball into the net, and the hosts of the last World Cup lost the points again with the final whistle - 1:1. Qatar's only chance of leaving the group is to beat Mexico and wait for Haiti to lose to Honduras.

Everything in the upcoming matchup speaks in favor of Mexico - the teams' performance in this tournament, the results of their recent matches, including the Gold Cup, and the overall level of the squad, which is much higher for the Mexicans. But Mexico has secured a quarter-final place and is 99.9 percent certain to be top of the group. The only rival that can catch up with the Mexicans is Haiti. But even in the case of a tie, Mexico will still be higher because of their excellent goal difference. So the team will likely play Qatar in the second line-up and will not be too stressed if something goes against the game plan.

Qatar has made a good impression in the opening rounds. Carlos Queiroz's team played well, maintaining their balance of play and excelling in defense. The only miscalculation was to end the games against Haiti and Honduras a minute before the final whistle sounded. Qatar still has a chance to get out of the group; the Mexicans don't need anything anymore, so why not try to take that chance?