CHICAGO -- Mexico defender Carlos Salcedo isn't getting carried away with Mexico's traditional status as a regional giant ahead of Sunday's Gold Cup final against the United States.
Mexico scraped past Haiti 1-0 after extra time on Tuesday in the semifinal to set up a championship game against El Tri's bitter rival, but Salcedo doesn't believe there is any favorite on Sunday.
"In football, there aren't any giants anymore," he told media after the game against Haiti. "You have to play the games. History says we've won a lot of Gold Cups [seven], but that isn't going to help us win on Sunday. We can only show our quality by lifting the cup."
Mexico received some criticism for taking so long to put away a Haitian side ranked 101st in the world by FIFA, but the Tigres defender stressed taking a balanced approach is the best way to analyze the tournament so far.
"If you play well against Sweden and lose, there is criticism," Salcedo said. "In Mexico there is no middle ground. We aren't looking for the spotlight, we aren't looking for people to tell us what we are doing well or badly, the team has to give explanations to the coach. We are in a final and we're going to give it all to win."
Meanwhile, the former Eintracht Frankfurt player also has been linked with a move back to Europe this summer, but he isn't focused on his club future at present.
"I have to wait," he said. "I don't want to put my head in that situation. I want to wait. I haven't talked to my agent and that's one thing I have to do: sit down with my agent, go through everything and then I'll see.
"Right now I'm focused on national team and after that I'll focus on Tigres, which is my team right now."