Two of Mexico's youngest players are hoping to start an entirely different streak in the United States when the teams face off Friday in the first World Cup qualification match of the Hexagonal.
El Tri have lost their last four World Cup qualification matches on American soil, with their last qualifying win in the U.S. coming in 1972. But for Jurgen Damm, who was called into the team to replace injured Tigres teammate Javier Aquino, the new generation of Mexican players won't be as affected mentally by past meetings.
Marquez forgetting about past Columbus results
"We all want to change history, to get a good result first of all for ourselves, for the national team, for the coaching staff and for all the Mexicans who are supporting us," Damm said. "It's going to be very important to reverse this, to go out to play with all our hearts and get a positive result."
Last month, Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio said that the challenge of winning in Columbus, Ohio, for the first time is more about mental preparation.
"We've removed this thought from our mind that we always come here and lose dos a cero," Damm said. "We've got to change this mentality."
Damm is unlikely to start, but 20-year-old Hirving Lozano has made five starts for Mexico in 2016 and said El Tri will come out with a positive game plan as they look to score on the Americans in a qualifier in the U.S. for the first time since 1998.
"We're going to try to be better than them, try to give our best, to always have the result in front of us and look to score goals," Lozano said.
Rafa Marquez played in Mexico's first defeat in Columbus but said this current group may be Mexico's most talented yet.
"It's the generation that maybe has the most players in Europe. It's clear that there are players who are on important teams and who are important players in their teams. We've never seen this before in Mexico," the 37-year-old said. "We have to take advantage of it."
