Ricardo Ferretti
DATE IMPORTED:August 21, 2015Tigres coach Ricardo Ferretti walks off the pitch at halftime during their Mexican league championship second leg, quarter-final soccer match against Pachuca at the Universitario stadium in Monterrey, in this November 27, 2011 file photo. Ferretti, coach of Mexican top flight side UANL Tigres, will take charge of the national team for the next four matches on an interim basis, the country's soccer federation said on Thursday. Brazilian-born Ferretti, who has coached a series of top teams in Mexico, would see the national side through their two upcoming friendlies against Trinidad and Tobago on Sept. 4 and against Argentina four days later, the president of the federation Decio de Maria told local television. REUTERS/Tomas Bravo/Files

Mexico kicks off the Ricardo Ferretti era on Friday night when El Tri takes the pitch in a rematch from their final group play game against Trinidad and Tobago in the CONCACAF Gold Cup last month.

Mexico has had a roller coaster past few weeks. After defeating Jamaica in the Gold Cup Final to lift their record breaking seventh trophy in tournament history, things took a turn for the worst as Mexico's manager Miguel Herrera attacked a journalist at the airport the following day.

Herrera was promptly fired by the Mexican Football Federation and after weeks of speculation, was replaced by Feretti. Ferretti is given the tough task of having to implement his new system and strategy with just over a month until the ever-important Confederations Cup qualifying match with the United States.

If Mexico is to win that match over their rivals to the north, they will have to turn things around very quickly.

Trinidad and Tobago comes into the international friendly riding high after a 4-4 draw with El Tri in the final game of the CONCACAF Gold Cup group play. Despite getting bounced in the quarterfinals, T&T impressed over the summer tournament and have a lot of young and exciting talent on the rise.

They're quick, aggressive and fun to watch. Trinidad and Tobago instantly will become a fan favorite and could be a matchup nightmare for Mexico.

Ferretti is expected to implement a secondary lineup for the friendly with stars Miguel Layun, Javier Hernandez, Raul Jimenez and Rafa Marquez all expected to rest.

Carlos Vela should start up front and Javier Aquino will be in the midfield with Alfredo Talavera manning the pipes for Mexico.

We expect the game to tough sledding for Mexico as they try an adapt to Fereti's new style. If they can pick up the pace and play the type of soccer that Ferretti has going at Tigres, then Mexico will be very dangerous. But if it takes time to develop this style as we anticipate, then it could be rough going on the pitch for Mexico on Friday night.

Prediction: 3-2 Trinidad and Tobago

Betting Favorite: Mexico -1
Over/Under: 2.5 Goals

The game is set to kick off on Friday, September 4, 2015 at 10:00 PM EST at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. It will air love on ESPN3, UniMas, and Univision Deportes. It can be live streamed here.

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