Updates as the Socceroos and El Tri ramp up their World Cup preparationsKick-off time in California is Saturday 7pm local/Sunday 12pm AESTAny thoughts? Get in touch on emailToday’s venue is one of the great stadiums of the world.Raúl Vilchis explains how Mexico are looking inward to rekindle the spirit of 1986 as they prefer for their third World Cup hosting experience. Mexico have played six times this year, but only half of those have come with their full-strength squad. Their Europe-based players were missing for their most recent match, last week’s 2-0 win over Ghana. But Ghana fielded a weakened team too, and their coach, Carlos Queiroz, didn’t even attend the game.Fernández and others also believe there are deeper problems that can’t be fixed with a month of extra training sessions. The roots of these deficiencies lie in top-level decisions made since the team’s failure at Qatar 2022, when El Tri crashed out in the group stage, their worst finish at a World Cup in four decades. The insularity of Mexican soccer means young players often stay at home rather than gain valuable experience in the top European leagues. The decision to end promotion and relegation in Liga MX also means a lack of jeopardy that can sharpen players’ edges. Continue reading...

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/may/31/mexico-v-australia-socceroos-football-friendly-live-updates