Mexico veteran Rafael Marquez won't retire until his level of football drops

At 36 years old, Rafa Marquez has been a consistent figure in the Mexican national team lineup for a long time.

The former Barcelona defender, now with Hellas Verona, earned his first national call-up in 1997 and made over 125 caps for El Tri in the years since. Despite his age, Marquez isn't thinking about stepping away from the game - or the national team - any time soon.

"In the World Cup in South Africa I thought maybe I would retire," Marquez told reporters. "But the level of football keeps me here. I'm conscious that at some point my level will drop. So really I'm just going to enjoy doing what I can, while I can."

Marquez is part of the Mexico team that's set to take on the United States in the CONCACAF Cup - a single-match qualifier that'll decide which of the two regional giants will compete in the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

Marquez has seen it all before over the course of his 20-year career, and from both sides of the rivalry, having played in the U.S. with the New York Red Bulls. While he's relishing the challenge, Marquez was also wary about calling it a "must-win" match.

"It's been a long time that I've been playing against the United States, I don't know how many games I've had against them," Marquez said. "But we have a passion for this game. Sports-wise I think the matches in the past have always been wonderful.

"The team has a great deal of potential and we just want to show that tomorrow. I hope the team can show that. We have great commitment to have a good game tomorrow. We're going to try and take that pressure off of having the obligation to win."