Goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo has replaced the injured Luis Angel Malagon (Manuel Guadarrama/Getty Images)
Strengths
Last summer, Mexico won a watered-down 2023 Gold Cup tournament in which they scored 12 goals and conceded just twice. Five Mexico players scored two goals apiece during the competition, which pointed towards Lozano’s focus on the collective.
Mexico played direct, were quick on the counter and clinical when it mattered. Ahead of the Copa America, Lozano will hope that Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez, Mexico’s next star in the making, will become their main goalscoring threat. Without Fulham’s Raul Jimenez in the squad, Mexico’s No 9 position will lose experience but gain a spark from 23-year-old Gimenez.
While it’s too early in Lozano’s tenure to categorically identify Mexico’s strengths, the midfield is not a bad place to start. West Ham’s Edson Alvarez will take the captain’s armband and lead from the center of the park. Six of Mexico’s midfielders were part of the 2022 World Cup squad, including Dynamo Moscow’s Luis Chavez, who scored a belter of a free kick against Saudi Arabia in Qatar. Chavez is a dangerous set-piece expert, which Mexico will certainly look to take advantage of.
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Weaknesses
One overwhelming opinion that Mexico can’t shake is that the talent level of their national team has dropped severely. In the CONCACAF Nations League final in March, Mexico were defeated soundly by a full-strength U.S. team, marking a third consecutive defeat to the Americans in a final. The 2-0 defeat in Dallas was Lozano’s first taste of real scrutiny and it highlighted the gap between the two countries.
Football is becoming more about strength, speed and an awareness of space and how to attack it. Mexico has fallen behind in those areas by delaying their current generational transformation. The Copa America will test Mexico’s ability to play against better teams in a meaningful tournament. Mexico were drawn in Group B with Ecuador, Venezuela and Jamaica. It’s viewed as the most even of the four groups. Each match has the makings of a physical, fast-paced battle.
Mexico’s attack has international experience, the midfield is solid and the team’s back line has potential.
The thing you didn’t know
Mexico will not wear their traditional green home kits at the Copa America. Instead, Mexico will don a colorfully-designed burgundy home shirt that has divided the fanbase. The Mexico-flag inspired green shirt, white shorts and red socks has long been the national team’s main kit. However, this isn’t the first time that a Mexico uniform has angered the team’s rabid supporters.
In 2021, Mexico wore a black and pink home kit that was well received by the streetwear crowd but panned by traditionalists, who believe Mexico should always wear green. Mexico and kit maker Adidas have never shied away from experimentation, which has led to big sales and social media buzz every time Mexico releases a new look.
The Rosa Mexicano black and pink shirt became synonymous with Mexico’s decline ahead of the last World Cup. Yet, a green home kit didn’t change Mexico’s luck in Qatar in 2022. It will be interesting to see if Mexico’s new look at the Copa America will inspire or further dishearten its supporters.
Mexico’s Copa America kit boasts a pattern inspired by peacock feathers (Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Expectations back home
Mexico has been an invited nation at the Copa America on 10 occasions. They were runners-up in 1993 and 2001 and semi-finalists in 1997, 1999 and 2007. Mexico has competed well at the Copa America but they’ve also suffered humbling defeats.
They failed to progress from the group stage at the 2011 and 2015 Copa America tournaments. And during the 2016 Copa America Centenario, Chile thrashed Mexico 7-0 in the quarterfinal stage.
This summer, Mexico’s expectations are slightly clouded. By taking a younger team to the tournament and considering their recent form, no one outside of Mexico’s dressing room sees them as a contender. The Mexico Football Federation has said publicly that the tournament will be a showcase for the team’s up-and-coming talents to attract European scouts.
“What’s most important is what we are building towards 2026 and 2030,” Lozano said recently. But while the messaging has changed, the scrutiny will remain in Mexico. Lozano will experiment but if the team underperforms, controversy will follow.
Mexico’s Copa America squad (provisional)
Goalkeepers: Carlos Acevedo (Santos Laguna), Raul Rangel (Guadalajara), Julio Gonzalez (Pumas UNAM).
Defenders: Israel Reyes (Club America), Jorge Sanchez (Porto), Brian Garcia (Toluca), Cesar Montes (Almeria), Victor Guzman (Monterrey) Alexis Pena (Necaxa), Johan Vasquez (Genoa), Jesus Orozco (Guadalajara), Gerardo Arteaga (Monterrey), Bryan Gonzalez (Pachuca).
Midfielders: Edson Alvarez (West Ham United), Luis Romo (Monterrey), Jordan Carrillo (Santos), Erick Sanchez (Pachuca), Orbelin Pineda (AEK Athens), Roberto Alvarado (Guadalajara), Luis Chavez (Dynamo Moscow), Andres Montano (Mazatlan), Fernando Beltran (Guadalajara), Carlos Rodriguez (Cruz Azul).
Forwards: Marcelo Flores (Tigres), Cesar Huerta (Pumas UNAM), Julian Quinones (Club America), Santiago Gimenez (Feyenoord), Alexis Vega (Toluca), Uriel Antuna (Cruz Azul), Guillermo Martinez (Pumas UNAM), Diego Lainez (Tigres).
(Artwork: John Bradford. Photos: Getty; Michael Janosz/ISI Photos, Thearon W. Henderson)
Source link : https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5518217/2024/06/14/mexico-copa-america-2024-squad-guide/
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Publish date : 2024-06-14 07:04:12
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