Tough Trip for Mexico

El Tri Visits Jamaica in CONCACAF World Qualifier

· Jan 25 - 4 minutes read

The top three of Canada, the United States and Mexico are just separated by just two points in the CONCACAF standings, with each game being crucial for booking a World Cup spot in Qatar. Mexico travels to play Jamaica on Friday and eager to add three more points to their tally. Our sportsbook is offering great prices for this matchup.

Jamaica: Poor Record vs. Mexico

With just seven points picked up in eight games, Jamaica needs a miracle to earn a direct qualification spot or even a playoff position. They are sitting seven points behind fourth-place Panama and their schedule is very busy. During this international break, they will play Mexico and Costa Rica at home and Panama on the road, and we don’t expect them to win more than two points from these three encounters.

Tough trip for El Tri — Chuck Burton/Getty Images/AFP

As expected, they enter this match as underdogs at +485 on the three-way moneyline according to the latest soccer odds. Leon Bailey has been out of action for nearly eight weeks due to a severe thigh strain that he picked up during the latter stages of Aston Villa ‘s defeat to Manchester City on Dec. 1. He will be a doubt to feature in Villa’s next Premier League game against Leeds on Feb. 9 and, of course, he will miss all three international games for Jamaica.

Team	Handicap	Moneyline	Total	Team Total
Jamaica	+½ +110	+485	2 -130o	½ -125o ½ -105u
Mexico	-½ -140	-140	2 Evu	1½ +110o 1½ -140u
Draw		+230

Considering that West Ham’s in-form star striker Michail Antonio has received a call-up, we expect Jamaica to find the back of the net, but their record against Mexico is poor. They won just one of their last seven head-to-heads against Mexico, losing four in the process. They lost the reverse match 2-1 on the road as Club America striker Henry Martin scored a late winner.

Mexico: Part of World Cup history

Mexico has been a part of the history of football, qualifying for the World Cup 16 times, missing out in 1934, 1974 and 1982. Their best finish in the tournament has been the quarterfinals, but they have always been a part of the Round of 16 journey from 1994 to 2018.

Unfortunately, they enter this clash on the back of two defeats in a row (competitive games) against Team USA and Canada, both on the road. Mexicans looks to bounce back from a poor run of form by a dominating performance against minnows Jamaica. The El Tri do not want to miss out on the FIFA World Cup spot in Qatar, with the Mexicans being regulars to the prestigious event. Yes, they lost the last two games, but they are one of the teams we trust adding them in our soccer picks and parlays.

They are fully packed with world-class players all over the pitch. Their attack is absolutely on fire with players like Raul Jimenez from Wolverhampton, Hirving Lozano from Napoli, Hector Herrera from Atletico Madrid or Jesus Corona from Sevilla. They are scoring many goals and now that they need the points, they will be forced to attack from the first whistle.

If you’re betting online, you must check the entire picture. Why? Because if you just check the stats and start betting on international football, you’ll lose your entire bankroll very fast. Mexico is one of the most consistent teams in the world and the two consecutive defeats shouldn’t mean nothing. Having them at -140 on the moneyline to win the game is gold. Of course, we will sprinkle a small stake on over two goals at -130 because the line is crazy low but for our main pick, we are going with Mexico to win and maintain the pressure on the top two spots.