World Cup 2018: 5 underdogs to cheer for

By rehaan díaz

Modified Jul 02, 2018 22:23 GMT

**Underdog nations punch above their weight, by being led by a few world-class performers**

#2 México

El Tri can set years of under performance right in Russia — **El Tri has the potential to set years of underperformances right in Russia**

Coach: Heimir Hallgrímsson | Preferred system 4-3-3 | Group F

FIFA Ranking: 15 | Key players: Javier Hernández, Guillermo Ochoa, Hirving Lozano

Best WC performance: Quarter-finals (1970, 1986)

Opening Round Opponents: Germany ( June 17) | South Korea (June 23) | Sweden (June 27)

Winners of Concacaf, México have a core of players that is technically the best they have had in years. They have unfinished business after being unfairly and excruciatingly eliminated by the Netherlands last time around. They should progress into the next round as runners-up from their group that includes defending champions Germany.

Even if they do, they have to erase an unwanted record of 6 straight round of 16 eliminations. With the USA absent, they are the only team from North America with a decent shot of making a splash at the World Cup.

Edited by Arvind Sriram