MEXICO CITY, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Serbia manager Veljko Paunovic says Mexico has the talent to advance deep into the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup, which starts next week in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Paunovic knows Mexican football well, having had spells in charge of Guadalajara and Tigres UANL over a managerial career spanning 14 years.

"I am convinced of it. I've been saying it since I was here during my career in Mexico," Paunovic told reporters ahead of Serbia's friendly with Mexico in Toluca on Thursday.

"All the ingredients are there for it to happen. There is a tremendous culture, passion, precision and the commitment needed for the national team to achieve results through hard work."

Mexico will begin its World Cup campaign against South Africa on June 11 before meeting South Korea and the Czech Republic in Group A.

Paunovic praised the work of Mexico manager Javier Aguirre, who returned for a third spell in charge of the national team in July 2024.

"There is an established identity, there is a great deal of talent and, on top of that, playing at home is a huge advantage, as long as the public gets behind the national team. That is what is sometimes lacking," he said.

"As a fan and as a football person, I believe they have more than enough to be there. I have great confidence in the national team. They have a great coach and can certainly achieve something important, a historic World Cup."

While Mexico will use the match to finalize its World Cup preparations, Serbia is already beginning to plan for the 2030 qualifiers.

"It's going to be an extremely demanding game for us but a valuable opportunity to test our progress," Paunovic added.