DONALD WHO?:

[El Tri]  kicked off the Trump era with a 2-1 victory over the US in Columbus, Ohio, four days after the election, and has since then sailed through World Cup qualifying.

On Sunday, Mexico will once again confront the US - this time on home ground at the Estadio Atzeca. A victory here would almost guarantee its spot in Russia 2018.

Similarly, the darkest fears prompted by Trump's victory have given way to cautious optimism across Mexico.

Early fears that US protectionism could unravel 25 years of economic integration have faded. Investors are feeling bullish again. Even the peso, which plummeted in the days after the US election, has recovered, hitting a 10-month high Thursday.

"Mexico is no longer the tiny partner you can bully around," said José Merino, a political scientist at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (Itam). "We've turned into a very competitive world exporter."

The rebound also stems from a consensus that the disaster scenarios spun as Trump prepared to take office are unlikely to materialise. Investors are betting that the deep integration of the US and Mexican economies, with firms establishing supply chains on both sides of the border, is too deeply established to uproot.

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