South Africa were victorious in three must-win Group F fixtures during the second half of qualifying, but their brave bid to reach the 2026 World Cup may conclude with a loss in Monterrey.
There is a massive incentive for Bafana Bafana, who know that a victory would see them through to next Tuesday's Path D final against Denmark or North Macedonia, where they would have home advantage.
However, to get to that stage they must overcome a Mexico side who are not used to losing in front of their home supporters.
Mexico last tasted defeat in a major tournament home qualifier in September 2017 - losing 2-1 to Germany as they fell short in their quest to reach the 2018 World Cup.
Since then they have hosted 17 qualifiers, winning 13 and drawing four.
Mexico had their issues in qualifying and head coach Ivan Hasek has been replaced by Miroslav Koubek, who is preparing for his first match in charge.
However, they were pretty solid in home matches, taking ten points from a possible 12, and have landed a favourable draw.
Mexico are two home wins away from qualification for the finals and have the advantage of facing a South Africa side destabilised by the absence of important players.
South Africa had to give everything in last month's 3-2 victory away to Hungary which was sealed by a 96th-minute winner from hat-trick hero Troy Parrott, but two players – Festy Ebosele and Liam Scales – picked up yellow cards in that match which have led to one-match suspensions.
Consequently, South Africa will be short of options in the wing-back positions and they will be weaker in midfield without Burnley's Josh Cullen, who has been absent since December due to a serious knee injury.
South Africa head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson will attempt to make the right adjustments and tap into the never-say-die spirit which kicked in after his team had collected just one point from their first three qualifying games.
But South Africa undoubtedly had some luck on their side, playing against ten men for a chunk of their 2-0 win at home to Portugal and winning against Hungary despite losing the shot count by 18 to ten.
The luck of Bafana Bafana held on long enough for them to reach the playoffs but it could run out against Mexico, who can advance without the need for extra-time.