The duel between Mexico and Costa Rica in the Gold Cup is approaching, but in the meantime, Miguel Herrera, current coach of the Costa Rican team, made statements that are attracting attention. During a press conference, Herrera questioned the relevance and objectivity of the FIFA ranking, especially in relation to Mexico's usual position in said table.

“If we look at the world ranking, it's subjective. I've seen Mexico appear among the top four or five and it's not true, that ranking is subjective. Seeing these teams above 100 or below 100 is not true, because they have players who play in Europe, the Champions League, it's not that they are bad players,” Herrera stated.

CONCACAF vs. CONMEBOL: An increasingly shorter gap

El 'Piojo' also referred to the competitive level between the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL confederations, and made it clear that the gap is no longer as wide as it is believed. As an example, he recalled Costa Rica's performance at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where they advanced to the quarterfinals after overcoming a difficult group.

"CONCACAF is below CONMEBOL, but, at the end of the day, I see it as closer, there are not so many gaps. When we from CONCACAF face those from CONMEBOL or UEFA, there is not the same distance as before. Costa Rica did good things in the last World Cup, in Brazil they gave Costa Rica up for dead and it made history. Sometimes it is well qualified and that is unreal," commented the Mexican coach, as published by MedioTiempo.

Herrera will have the mission of facing Mexico on Sunday, June 22, a duel that will undoubtedly generate expectations, especially due to the context of the tournament and the quality of both teams.

Dominican Republic, the unexpected rival

For now, in Group A of the Gold Cup, the Dominican Republic is fighting for its first victory in this competition, in which it participates for the first time. After a narrow 3-2 defeat to Mexico, the Dominican team wants to take advantage of the match against Costa Rica to earn its first points.

Argentine coach Marcelo Neveleff, head of the Dominican national team,He highlighted the importance of this match: "We need to win our first match at an international event, and I think this is a good time. No disrespect to anyone, neither Costa Rica nor Suriname, who are our upcoming rivals, but it's the challenge we have." Costa Rica currently leads the group with three points, followed closely by Mexico. Suriname and the Dominican Republic are at the bottom of the table with no points, awaiting a result that will keep them in contention to advance to the next round.