Mexico striker Raul Jimenez will make his return to the pitch when Mexico faces Sweden in an international friendly at the Estadi Montilivi in Girona, Spain on Wednesday. This marks the first time that Jimenez will play since the end of August.
Jimenez recently finished recovering from a groin injury that he picked up while playing for his club team Wolverhampton Wanderers at the start of September. Despite his injury, Jimenez was included in the final 26-man squad that Mexico will take to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.
“We made the decision based on the progress that Raul Jimenez was making,” Mexico coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said of his decision to include Jimenez in the squad. “We just needed to know how he reacted in competitive training, and the response was very good and surely tomorrow he will have minutes against Sweden.”
Mexico’s last exhibition game came against Iraq, whom they defeated 4-0. Their game against Sweden will be their last match before their World Cup journey kicks off.
The team will travel to Qatar on Thursday where they are set to be based just north of Doha at the Hotel Simaisma. Mexico’s first World Cup game is against Poland on November 22, after which they will face Argentina and Saudi Arabia.
