Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez believes Mexico can stun the world by winning the World Cup, defiantly asking, "Tell me why not?"
Simply making it out of Group F, which also features defending champions Germany, Sweden and South Korea, is far from guaranteed for Mexico, but Hernandez told ESPN's David Faitelson last month that he's thinking much bigger.
"Why can't we be Greece in the Euros?" Hernandez asked. "Why can't we be Leicester in the Premier League? Tell me why not."
Greece shocked the field to win the European Championship in 2004, before Leicester famously overcame 5,000-1 odds to win the English title in 2016.
"Look at Greece, look at Leicester, look at the millions of examples," he continued. "Tell me why not? There's Spain. I say that because it's probably generational and how things are in soccer.
"But Germany has been able to stay at that level because it's been a champion before. They lost the Euros first against Spain, then lost a semifinal to Spain, which became champion. Then another Euros for Spain, but they go to Brazil in 2014 and don't get out of the group stage. We were higher in the rankings than the defending champions were."
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Mexico hasn't always looked like a world-beater in the lead-up to the tournament in Russia, losing friendlies to Croatia and Denmark and drawing with Wales, but Hernandez said history shows champions can bounce back.
Asked if Mexico has reached its full potential, he said: "No, never. I also think the Spain team that won the cup [in 2010] had terrible games. Against Switzerland, they lost that first game and went on to be champions of the world. It was a very good game from both teams [in the semifinal] against Germany, and what ended up deciding the game was a stopped ball, and it was an aerial game against the Germans.
"It's the type of moments that can mark a generation, like Netherlands obviously did with [Johan] Cruyff and other teams have in the past. Brazil, during its time. That's soccer. There are good games and others that aren't so much.
"For example, one game that wasn't visually pleasing from either team but that people came away happy with, look at how our performance isn't an issue against the United States in Columbus [in a November 2016 World Cup qualifier]. We won on a stopped ball from Rafa Marquez, something that had never happened, and everyone said it was wonderful even though it was a struggle, a close game at 1-1."
Mexico has lost in the round of 16 in the past six World Cups and Hernandez said that if El Tri is going to break that streak it has to be comfortable with changing its style to get results.
"At the end, what do you prefer?" he asked. "To play beautifully and stay in the same place, the round of 16, or play ugly and reach a semifinal?"