Mexico and Serbia will meet in an international friendly at Estadio Nemesio Diez in Toluca on Thursday evening, with the hosts playing their final warm-up match before the 2026 World Cup begins.
Mexico will want to protect their positive run before opening the tournament against South Africa on June 11, while Serbia arrive in Mexico looking for a response after a disappointing friendly defeat to Cape Verde. Mexico is the favourite to win, and this match could be an interesting choice for players chasing betting promotions and bonuses.
Verdict: Mexico win and over 1.5 goals
Best odds: 1/2
Bookmaker: 888sport
Mexico enter this friendly in strong form and with the World Cup now very close. Javier Aguirre’s side has been building momentum through their final preparation matches, and this game against Serbia gives them one last chance to sharpen the squad before the pressure of the tournament opener.
The hosts recently beat Australia 1-0, with Johan Vasquez scoring the only goal of the match. Before that, Mexico also defeated Ghana 2-0, which means they have kept back-to-back clean sheets in their final preparation period. That should give Aguirre encouragement, especially because defensive stability will be important once the World Cup begins.
This is Mexico’s final test before playing South Africa at Estadio Azteca on June 11, and there will be a clear desire to enter the tournament with confidence. Playing at home, in front of their own supporters, should only add to that sense of expectation.
The attacking options look strong enough to cause Serbia problems. Raul Jimenez, Santiago Gimenez, Julian Quinones, Alexis Vega, Roberto Alvarado and Armando Gonzalez all give Mexico different profiles in the final third, while the midfield has enough technical quality to control the possession and dominate over inexperienced Serbian midfielders.
Team News
Guillermo Ochoa has been named in Mexico’s World Cup squad and could be involved here, although Javier Aguirre also has Raul Rangel and Carlos Acevedo available as goalkeeping options.
Mexico have experience in defence through Cesar Montes, Johan Vasquez, Israel Reyes and Jesus Gallardo, while Jorge Sanchez is another option in the back line.
In midfield, Edson Alvarez remains one of the key figures for Mexico, while Orbelin Pineda, Luis Romo, Luis Chavez, Erik Lira, Alvaro Fidalgo, Obed Vargas, Brian Gutierrez and Gilberto Mora are also part of the squad. Aguirre has enough options to rotate, but he may still want to keep a strong core on the pitch.
Further forward, Raul Jimenez and Santiago Gimenez are the most obvious centre-forward options. Julian Quinones, Roberto Alvarado, Cesar Huerta, Alexis Vega, Guillermo Martinez and Armando Gonzalez could also feature, giving Mexico plenty of attacking depth for the final friendly before the tournament.
Serbia arrive in Toluca after a difficult result against Cape Verde, losing 3-0 in Lisbon. That defeat was a poor way to begin this friendly window, especially for a team trying to move forward after missing out on the 2026 World Cup.
Veljko Paunovic has named a squad with several younger players and a number of footballers who are still trying to secure a more regular role with the national team. That makes this friendly, useful, but also challenging. Serbia are facing a World Cup host nation away from home, in conditions that should suit Mexico far more.
The visitors are missing many key players from their previous campaign, and most experienced players who featured against Cape Verde, Strahinja Pavlovic and Andrija Zivkovic, will not travel to Mexico with the team. That will open a chance for younger names to show they can become part of the next competitive cycle.
Serbia’s main issue is consistency. They have shown that they can be competitive in individual matches, but recent results have been disappointing, and the Cape Verde defeat exposed familiar problems. Against Mexico, they will need a much better defensive performance, or else they might face even more embarrassing defeat.
Team News
Veljko Paunovic called up Filip Stankovic, Veljko Ilic and Luka Lijeskic as goalkeeping options for the friendly matches against Cape Verde and Mexico.
In defence, Serbia has Strahinja Erakovic, Ognjen Mimovic, Kosta Nedeljkovic, Vukasin Djurdjevic, Veljko Milosavljevic, Nikola Simic, Mirko Milikic, Stefan Bukinac and Adem Avdic available. After the heavy defeat to Cape Verde, changes in the back line would not be a surprise.
The midfield group includes Aleksandar Stankovic, Njegos Petrovic, Vasilije Kostov, Vanja Dragojevic, Petar Stanic, Vladimir Lucic and Dejan Zukic. Paunovic may use this match to test combinations and give minutes to players who could become more important in the next stage of Serbia’s rebuild.
In attack, Andrija Maksimovic, Veljko Birmancevic and Lazar Randjelovic are the wide options, while Nikola Stulic and Mihailo Ivanovic are listed as centre forwards. Serbia will need more from their attacking players than they showed against Cape Verde, especially if Mexico control possession for the majority of the game.
Conclusion
Mexico have the stronger immediate motivation, better recent form, and the advantage of playing at home. With the World Cup opener just days away, Aguirre’s side should approach this match with serious focus, even if he decides to manage minutes across the squad.
Serbia have individual quality, but they are coming from a poor result and still look like a team searching for rhythm under Paunovic. This friendly can help them test players and rebuild confidence, but facing Mexico in Toluca is a difficult assignment.
The hosts have kept clean sheets against Ghana and Australia, and their attacking depth should give them enough chances to win this match. Serbia may improve from the Cape Verde defeat, but Mexico look better placed to control the game and finish their World Cup preparations with another positive result. Betting on a convincing Mexico victory is a sound choice.
Verdict: Mexico win and over 1.5 goals
Best odds: 1/2
Bookmaker: 888sport
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