Game: Tijuana Xolos vs Club America
Where: Snapdragon Stadium
When: Sunday, March 26, 2023
Time: 2:00 p.m. PST
TV: TUDN App, TUDN.com
This Sunday, March 26, the Tijuana Xolos will play Club America at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego for a friendly match. The match is taking place during the FIFA international break, but both teams still have plenty of talent to offer as this game has the potential to be very entertaining for the San Diego fans.
The game will take place a day after the San Diego Wave opens its season at Snapdragon Stadium against the Chicago Red Stars. The Tijuana Xolos have been a staple in the region for over a decade and Club America is arguably the most popular team in Mexico, as there is expected to be a sellout crowd at Snapdragon Stadium.
The atmosphere will definitely be a spectacle, and the match has potential as Club Tijuana played to an exciting 2-1 loss to Club America when the two teams played in Mexico City earlier in the season. The two teams have previously faced off in San Diego as they played a friendly match at the now inexistent Qualcomm Stadium in 2018. That game resulted in a thrilling 2-2 draw, where San Diego native Joe Corona scored the tying goal for Club America.
Miguel Herrera was with Club America in that 2018 game but is now trying to revive a Xolos side that had a rough start to the season. “Piojo” has managed to change the culture at Club Tijuana as the border city team is coming off a 3-3 draw against Toluca in a game where the Xoloitzcuintles were down by three goals at one point.
The Aztec Canines are undefeated in their last four games at home and will not be too far from the Estadio Caliente in this match. The biggest difference from the Mictlan is that Snapdragon has real grass as opposed to the synthetic turf of Club Tijuana’s stadium.
Xolos goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez is the only player on international duty for Miguel Herrera’s side that will be unavailable for this match. For Club America, Israel Reyes, Henry Martin, Alejandro Zendejas, Sebastian Caceres, Jonathan Rodriguez, Nestor Araujo, Richard Sanchez, Pedro Aquino, and Diego Valdes will all be with their respective national teams. However, the capital city team still has a deep squad, and there is several talented players remaining, like Leonardo Suarez, Alvaro Fidalgo, and Federico Vinas.
Club America is currently in third place on the Liga MX table, while Club Tijuana is 14th as there is currently a significant gap between both teams. However, this is set to be a much more compettive match, given the circumstances surrounding the clash.
This will be a good opportunity for Miguel Herrera to test some players that have not received much minutes in the regular season, like Misael Dominguez, Everardo Rubio, and Jose Juan Vazquez. It will also be very interesting to see if goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco gets a chance to start in this match after slowly returning from his injury.
Players to Watch
Joaquin Montecinos
Montecinos has not been a consistent starter this season, but he has shown his immense talent in previous campaigns with Club Tijuana. The Chilean forward is surely to get a start in this match as he has the potential to be an important piece to the vorcer city side if given the opportunity.
Alvaro Fidalgo
The Spanish playmaker is one of Club America’s best players, and he is the anchor of Las Aguilas‘ midfield. Fidalgo has the capabilities to generate several key scoring opportunities from the midfield with his superb passing ability.
Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.