England warm up for Euro 2012 in Oslo against Norway today, but Wales will look to build for the next World Cup qualifying campaign as they take on Mexico in New York tomorrow evening.
Chris Coleman’s side will battle the world’s 20th-ranked side and 30 degree heat as they run out at the MetLife Stadium, home of NFL sides the New York Giants and Tim Tebow’s New York Jets.
Wales’s association football encounter with Mexico here tomorrow evening is not likely to be played in front of the same raucous crowd as here for an American football game betwen the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys. Picture: Flickr, fabi_k
Wales will be without a number of high-profile players, most notably Tottenham Hotspur’s Gareth Bale. White Hart Lane teammate Giovani dos Santos and Manchester United’s Javier ‘Chicarito’ Hernandez are both expected to start for Mexico.
And José Manuel de la Torre’s side will be more concerned about the forthcoming encounter with Brazil in Dallas than Wales, whose last international outing saw them slip to a tame defeat in the Gary Speed tribute match.
But with Wales in a 2014 World Cup qualifying group alongside Belgium, Croatia, Macedonia, Scotland and Serbia, Coleman will feel his side has one of the best chances of reaching a major tournament for only the second time, following their World Cup finals appearance way back in 1958.
And a good performance in New York City by players who will want to be in consideration for that campaign is vital tomorrow evening.
An Early Bath 