COLUMBUS, Ohio — There are some problems that come with the Mexico job that coach Juan Carlos Osorio probably would rather not have to deal with.
There's the immense pressure the soccer-mad country puts on the man in charge, a pressure Osorio's counterpart Jurgen Klinsmann took a jab at Thursday. There's dealing with Liga MX owners, who curiously have a say in who leads the national team.
But there's one problem he's delighted to have: a surplus of attacking talent that he's confident gives him the edge against the Americans in Friday's match, a game that opens the final round of World Cup qualification for both teams.
"If one analyzes the position that Carlos Vela could play, you compare him with Giovani dos Santos, with Jesus Corona, with Marco Fabian, with Hirving Lozano it's not an easy decision to make," Osorio said at a news conference "The four, five are very good and hopefully we get the decision of who will play right.
"I don't have any doubt about any of those players. I have a lot of belief in all our players."
Why is Marquez still key for Mexico?
There are a wealth of winger options, and most of the players who can play on the outside both have the speed and skill to create chances for themselves but also the vision to link up with a central forward like Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez or Raul Jimenez. Four of the players are based outside Liga MX and are seeing significant minutes with their clubs. As defender Rafa Marquez said Thursday, there's never been a Mexican national team with so many players doing so well in Europe — and the 37-year-old would know.
Osorio knows too, and that's why he's cutting such a confident profile ahead of the game. There are still question marks in Mexico's midfield after that 7-0 stomping against Chile in the Copa America Centenario, and the defense doesn't have any fullback depth to speak of. But going forward, Mexico has an arsenal of weapons.
The coach praised the U.S., saying that players like Jozy Altidore and Christian Pulisic can cause problems and the defenders and goalkeepers also have experience and quality. But then he said his team "has everything," especially in the attack.
"From the middle of the field forward, in my opinion we have more players who can disrupt a defense," Osorio said. "Carlos, Giovani, Jesus, Javier, Andres (Guardado), Hector (Herrera), et cetera, et cetera. I think it gives us all the chance to think about that we have what it takes to penetrate their defense, cause them problems and play a game where we can compete with them."
Compete and perhaps get a goal, something that would knock off a lot of the psychological burden of playing in Columbus — where Mexico has failed to win in all four qualifiers it's played by a 2-0 scoreline — and on American soil in general, where Mexico hasn't won in a qualifier since 1972.
Getting a goal or even getting three points from this Hex-opening encounter would do a lot for El Tri. It would start a cycle off on a positive note, unlike the 2013 cycle during which a home draw with Jamaica hinted at the tumult to come. It would finally lift the fog of Columbus. And for Juan Carlos Osorio it would make a lot of those problems the Mexico manager is fated to face seem a lot less like significant — the bad ones, that is. He'll be more than happy for the attacking depth to keep being the problem he's solving.
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