Mexico set for November friendlies in Europe against Belgium and Poland

Jon Arnold

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Mexico set for November friendlies in Europe against Belgium and Poland image

Mexico will head to Europe for its final two matches of 2017, facing off against Belgium and Poland.

The matches, announced Thursday, will mark the first time El Tri have played friendly games in Europe since November 2014 when they traveled to face the Netherlands and Belarus in a pair of friendly games.

This time around, the national team will be facing stiff competition as part of coach Juan Carlos Osorio's efforts to get the team ready for the 2017 World Cup. Belgium currently is ranked fifth in the FIFA World rankings with Poland one spot behind in sixth. The games also could boost Mexico's own FIFA ranking ahead of December's World Cup draw.

El Tri will meet Belgium on Nov. 10 in a city to be confirmed later before traveling to meet Poland in Gdansk on Nov. 13.

More than half of Osorio's squad for the summer's Confederations Cup plays with European teams and the November dates in Europe will make it easier for those players to join the national team and still return to their clubs ready for the next matchday.

Jon Arnold

Jon Arnold Photo

Jon Arnold covered the Mexico national team and Concacaf region in English for Goal until March 2020. His byline also has appeared in the Dallas Morning News, the New York Times Goal blog, FloFC and Pacific Standard. In addition to his written work, he serves as the Concacaf expert on the BBC's World Football Phone-In and has appeared on SiriusXMFC in English and Fox Deportes and Milenio in Spanish. Formerly based in Tijuana and currently living in Texas, Jon covered the 2018 World Cup, the 2015 Copa America, the 2016 Copa America Centenario and the last five Gold Cups.