Mexico will bring a substantial amount of firepower to Rio. One of their three players over age 23 is 32-year-old striker Oribe Peralta, who has 22 goals in 50 caps for the senior team. He’ll join two of the country’s bright young studs, Erick Torres and Hirving Lozano. The 21-year-old Lozano was named the best player in the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament, which Mexico won.
The Germans have brought their own new wunderkind with Schalke star Max Meyer. The talented 20-year-old has caught the eye of some of the top teams in the world, and will be the main creative force in this German team.
The 27-year-old Nils Peterson, who scored 22 goals in just 27 appearances in Germany’s second division, is a dangerous target man. Meanwhile, Davie Selke, who scored nine goals in the Bundesliga as a 20-year-old, is a more than capable option off the bench.
The German defense will be quite imposing. World Cup winner Matthias Ginter is a rock at the heart of the German backline. He’ll also have some outstanding protection in front of him with one of the twins, Lars and Sven Bender, as well as Leon Goretzka likely to form a defensively sound midfield duo.
Meanwhile, it’s a bit tough to gauge this Mexican defense at the moment. On one hand, they were excellent in Olympic qualifying, conceding just one goal through five matches to win the tournament. But immediately after, the Mexicans went on a five-match winless run (four losses and a draw) which saw them concede 14 goals. They did finally manage to keep a clean sheet in their final match at the 2016 Toulon Tournament against Bulgaria.
Mexico undoubtedly has the talent in its backline, though. Gibran Lajud was named the qualifying tournament’s best goalie, and Mexicans also comprised of three of the four defenders in the team of the tournament.
Writer’s Prediction: Mexico and Germany battle to a 1-1 draw (+210) in their opening Olympic matchup.
