Mexico

Even twelve appearances later, the team has failed to bag the World Cup title but has managed to remain within the top ten World rankings. After a good start at the qualifiers, the team will try to achieve this year what they have always longed for.

FIFA world ranking	6
Coach	Ricardo Lavolpe
Group D	Angola, Mexico, Iran, Portugal
Previous appearances	12 times
Key player	Rafael Marquez
Odds	40/1

With 12 appearances, Mexico is sure an experienced team as far as the playing under the pressure of World Cup in concerned. But, they have failed to make a mark as yet.

The nearest they ever came to the Cup was when they reached the quarter-finals twice, both on home ground.

This time the squad showed tremendous performances during the qualifiers against Panama and Guatemala, striking five goals past both.

The efforts made by the team to traverse through the qualifying matches and secure a place in Germany have been commendable.

The team has ensured to remain within the top ten World rankings for a long time. What remains to be seen is that will Mexico, in its new avatar give a tough battle to a topnotch team like Brazil?

COMPLETE SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Oswaldo Sanchez, Guillermo Ochoa, Jesus Corona

Defenders: Jose Antonio Castro, Rafael Marquez, Mario Mendez, Ricardo Osorio, Francisco Rodriguez, Carlos Salcido, Claudio Suarez, Andres Guardado, Gonzalo Pineda

Midfielders: Luis Perez, Pavel Pardo, Antonio Naelson, Rafael Garcia, Gerardo Torrado, Ramon Morales

Forwards: Jared Borgetti, Guillermo Franco, Francisco Fonseca, Omar Bravo, Jesus Arellano.