Mexico
An impatient federation has forced a roster reboot in preparation for 2026 but the quality of the squad has dwindled as players shun the chance to play abroad
Jon Arnold
Sat 22 Jun 2024 11.00 CEST
When Guillermo Ochoa landed at the Mexico City airport in August 2019, he was greeted by hundreds of fans, some in the terminal, some outside where a brave few hopped on to the roof of the vehicle that was taking the goalkeeper from the airport to the headquarters of Club América.
Everyone was desperate to break through the sea of humanity to catch a glimpse of the legendary Mexico goalkeeper as he returned to his boyhood club. Now, it feels like nobody wants to see him at all.
Despite a good spell with América, consistent performances for the Mexico national team and a season-and-a-half starting with Serie A Salernitana (albeit one that saw the team relegated to Serie B this season), Ochoa was omitted from Mexico’s Copa América roster.
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The 38-year-old was a casualty of manager Jaime Lozano giving in to calls for generational change. Mexico fans want to win major tournaments and feel it can’t be done with the generation of players that made the World Cup Round of 16 in 2014 and 2018 then failed to get out of the group stage in 2022.
The plan was for Ochoa’s replacement at América, Luis Malagón, to succeed him with the national team. But those well-laid plans have gone wrong. Malagón picked up an injury that will keep him out of the Copa América, leaving Lozano to pick from two goalkeepers who hadn’t been capped prior to pre-tournament friendly matches or the late addition of Carlos Acevedo.
Ochoa wasn’t the only casualty of the desperation for change. Current PSV and future San Diego FC winger Hirving Lozano – hardly a senior citizen at age 28 – is out. América forward Henry Martín (31), Toluca fullback Jesús Gallardo (29) and Fulham forward Raúl Jiménez (31) have all also been left at home, big-name veterans who had a case to be in the squad but weren’t included.
“We are two years away from our World Cup,” Mexico sporting director Duilio Davino said after announcing the squad. “We have our spot secured and we want to take advantage of this great opportunity to not think about the immediacy of the result and project our path to 2026.”
Like the US and Canada, Mexico are trying to straddle the middle ground, building to a home World Cup in 2026 while trying to reflect the reality of the moment. Some of those left out did not show the form necessary to compete for a starting role with Mexico during their club season. Yet, pushing the older players out simply because of their age is a strategy that won’t end in a trophy this summer – or beyond.
In a national team, change should come naturally. The idea is for aging players to be replaced by younger ones because they can no longer match the talent in the player pool. Instead, Mexico will enter a tournament without a goalkeeper in strong form and without a difference-maker out wide.
Fans get impatient. Federation officials, too. In Mexico, there always are rumors of managers feeling pressure from above, the heavy thumb of a director or TV rights holder or even Liga MX club owner on the scale. Those who are conspiracy-minded will note Ochoa and Lozano had their places filled by Liga MX-based players.
The reality is scarier: While Mexico aren’t such a sinking ship that they’re shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic, they are remodeling the furniture in the living room. There aren’t any new additions who could truly brighten things up. The players Mexico fans have grown tired of seeing are still the best the country has.
Guillermo Ochoa is one of the casualties of Mexico’s move to build for 2026. Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
Were Ochoa holding on to his place and keeping a rising star from getting international minutes, that would be one thing. Costa Rica legend Keylor Navas just stepped aside from international play, clearing the way for Patrick Sequeira or Kevin Chamorro to gain experience before the 2026 World Cup. Indications are that Ochoa would still like to be playing for El Tri at that tournament, which will kick off in Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, where he had so many of his best moments for club and country.
While Costa Rica lag behind Mexico in Concacaf competition, El Tri find themselves second-best in the region. The USMNT are unbeaten in their last seven meetings with Mexico. And the difference in the quality of individual players shows when you examine their path to their national teams.
Unlike in Major League Soccer, where teams are eager to sell young players, Liga MX teams are often reluctant to sell up-and-coming players and, when they do allow a young star to leave, it often is to one of the bigger Mexican clubs.
After winning the Concacaf Champions Cup with Pachuca, 24-year-old midfielder Érick Sánchez reportedly has offers to join Club América or Real Oviedo in Spain this summer. Players who have faced the same type of choice in the past have found there’s often more money to be made by staying in Mexico, such is the financial weight of the clubs and the importance owners place on securing national team stars. Why leave your family and friends to move to a country you’ve never been to and to make less money for your troubles?
That means, however, that players like Martín and Gallardo hit a ceiling, often knowing their place in their club’s starting XI is secure and rarely being challenged by new techniques or information coaches in Europe’s top five leagues can offer.
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Some of Mexico’s brightest prospects have taken the risk but have been unable to stick with top European teams, opting to return to Mexico. While players like West Ham midfielder Edson Álvarez and Genoa center back Johan Vásquez are well-established in their European clubs, they’re the outliers rather than the bulk of the squad. Meanwhile, the US have just three players based in MLS on Gregg Berhalter’s Copa América roster, and many of their Europe-based crossed the Atlantic as teenagers, giving them years of training with the best clubs in the world.
“I think it’s players in the best leagues,” Jaime Lozano said when asked after March’s Nations League final defeat what needed to change for Mexico to once again top the US. “That’s the best thing that can happen for me as the manager, but also for the national team as a whole no matter who is in charge.”
Yet Lozano goes into Saturday’s opening match against Jamaica with questions at goalkeeper and in attack precisely because he’s once again relying on the best Liga MX has to offer.
If those young, domestic-based players aren’t able to step up and get results in this tournament, the veterans may return with fans once again lining up to welcome Ochoa back where he belongs.
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Source link : https://amp.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/jun/22/copa-america-mexico-preview-failure-guillermo-ochoa
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Publish date : 2024-06-22 05:00:00
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