Football Bet of the Day: World Cup hosts target friendly win

Mexico are preparing to host the 2026 World Cup alongside Canada and the United States of America, and given they automatically qualify for the finals, their friendlies take on far more importance than most. 

On Saturday night, they host Switzerland (21:00), looking to get a positive result against European opposition. This game takes our focus for Saturday’s Football Bet of the Day.

Mexico won the Concacaf Nations League final last time out with a win over Panama and they will hope for two good results as they host Switzerland and Turkey during this international break.  

Javier Aguirre has done a terrific job since taking the reins for his third spell as Mexico boss in July 2024, winning five of his seven fixtures in charge. He’s a manager with great experience, and he’s had positive spells in charge of Egypt (nine wins from 12), Monterrey and Mallorca in recent years.

Mexico vs Switzerland Odds

Getting Mexico moving in the right direction ahead of the World Cup is the priority and the shoots of positivity are apparent. He’s kept things simple with a 4-4-2, and is getting the best out of front man Raul Jimenez who scored two goals against Panama, and two goals in the semi-final against Canada. 

Jimenez is now on 39 international goals, just 13 behind Mexico’s all-time record goalscorer Javier Hernandez, and there’s a real chance that he could reach that tally by the time the World Cup rolls around next summer. He’s been leading the line alongside AC Milan star Santiago Gimenez, and that front two has every attribute needed to trouble defences. 

They’ve combined well lately, while West Ham’s Edson Alvarez and Chivas’ Luis Romo make up a dogged midfield partnership. Mexico will need to use these strengths if they are to beat Switzerland, who are ranked 20th in the world according to Fifa. 

However, they’ve only won one of their last six matches and although they have played good European opposition in the form of Spain and Serbia, they have also failed to beat Northern Ireland and I get the feeling that they are losing ground on some of their European rivals.

Football Odds

They beat Luxembourg 3-1 last time out but that was a game they were expected to win, and I’m not convinced about their defence. Ricardo Rodriguez is now 32, Stefan Gartenmann is playing in Hungary and Eray Comert is still trying to break into Valencia’s first team. Cedric Zesiger and Isaac Schmidt are alternative options but neither fill me with confidence. 

After the retirement of Yann Sommer, Yvon Mvogo and Gregor Kobel have been battling it out for the number one spot, but there has obviously been a downgrade in that position since Sommer departed. All of this leads me to believe that Mexico will get a win in front of their own fans on Saturday - as they test themselves against top-20 opposition.