KAZAN, Russia -- Mexico manager Juan Carlos Osorio was in no mood to deflate the importance of El Tri's Confederations Cup opener on Sunday against European champions Portugal in Kazan Arena.
The Colombian described the Group A match as "vital" to Mexico's chances in the tournament and said that while his side may not be a favorite to lift the trophy on July 2 in St. Petersburg, it has "as good a chance as any other team in the tournament."
"This is a magnificent opportunity as a group to compete against a team from the international elite," said Osorio of the Portugal game in Saturday's news conference.
Mexico hasn't played a side in the top ten of FIFA's rankings since Chile defeated El Tri 7-0 last summer in the Copa America Centenario, and Portugal represents a significant challenge for Osorio's team. But the manager said the Chile result is now in the past and is viewing Sunday's game as an opportunity.
"[Portugal] is one of the best teams in the world, they attack and defend very well and they are difficult to stop, it is an incredible national team," Osorio said. "But we have a chance to win if the players are capable of carrying out everything that we've been working on in these last days."
The former Atletico Nacional manager said he has formulated a plan to neutralize Portugal, which he considers very dangerous on the transition from defense to attack. Osorio hinted his side might defend high up the pitch and go "toe-to-toe" with the European side.
The inevitable question about how to stop Cristiano Ronaldo was asked first, with Osorio saying there is much more to Portugal than the Real Madrid forward.
"Firstly, we have have to understand that we play Portugal and not Cristiano Ronaldo," he said. "There are other quality players... we have to control the ball as much as possible. The individual [strengths] are there, but what stands out [about Portugal] is the collective."
The press was allowed to watch all of Mexico's pregame training session, which was largely dominated by an 11 versus 12 game in which all El Tri's squad members participated.
Nestor Araujo, Andres Guardado and Rafa Marquez missed last Sunday's 1-1 draw against the United States in Mexico City, but all looked comfortable in the training session.