Team profile: Mexico

Carlos Vela, arguably Mexico's greatest talent, is sitting out due to a long-standing but vague spat with the Mexican Soccer Federation. Every coach since Vela made his last international appearance in early 2011 (and there have been too many) has made overtures to the player, with no success in getting him to don the national jersey. The world will watch Javier "Chicharito" Hernández, but the Manchester United striker's success and playing have waned significantly in the last two seasons. Late bloomer Oribe Peralta, a striker who has toiled in the Mexican league for more than a decade and has come into form recently, may finally get a chance to prove himself on the World Cup stage.

Having made it to the quarterfinals once on home soil in 1970, Mexico did it again in 1986 with its best overall performance in front of its home crowd. El Tri went undefeated through the group stage, with two wins and a draw, then beat Bulgaria in the Round of 16, 2–0, before finally falling to eventual finalist West Germany in a penalty shootout after a 0–0 draw in regulation time, marking its closest run at the semifinals.

Mexico's qualifying was a disaster, with the team just barely making it to Brazil thanks in part to a dramatic U.S. victory over Panama thanks to two stoppage-time goals that kept Mexico's hopes alive. The team is on its fourth coach since qualifying began and has failed to develop much chemistry. The potential for a solid run through the tournament exists, but a calamitous early exit is equally likely and would surprise no one.

The Mexican selection is going through some growing pains as more star players are heading to European club teams. While this is a source of pride for Mexican fans, the "estranjeros" — or "foreigners" — have had some trouble reconnecting with "los domésticos." While Mexico has had individual stars, such as Hugo Sánchez, Luis García and Rafael Márquez, land and have success in Europe over the years, the current roster has seven "europeos," all of whom are likely to be among the team's starting 11.

Head coach Miguel Herrera has banned his players from eating red meat in light of a 2011 incident in which five players were suspended during the Gold Cup after testing positive for clenbuterol, a banned performance-enhancing drug. The suspensions were successfully appealed when it became clear the players had got the drug from eating the meat of cows that had been injected with it. The drug, banned by the FDA for use in animals grown for consumption in the United States, is used in some countries, such as Mexico and China, to fatten up cows.