Efraín Álvarez happy to be part of Mexican national team
The Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder has dual citizenship and declined to be part of the US youth national team so he could join Mexico during the FIFA international break.
Efraín Álvarez is considered to be one of the most talented players in Major League Soccer and he is only 18-years-old. Even Zlatan Ibrahimovic praised him during their time together at Los Angeles Galaxy during the 2019 season, saying that ‘everything is natural’ when playing with Álvarez.
Happy to be with El Tri
The midfielder declined the invitation to join up with the United States youth national team in the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament because the Mexican national team coach Gerardo Martino had talked to him about being part of the roster for El Tri during the FIFA International break in March.
He arrived in Cardiff alongside club teammate Jonathan dos Santos over the weekend and is experiencing for the first time the training sessions with the senior squad. During an interview with Azteca Deportes, Álvarez said that he is happy to get to know the rest of the team and learn from Martino’s method of training.
“Right now I want to be here [Mexico national team] and I want to contribute to the team. I want to show Martino what I have to offer and also learn from him and the rest of my teammates. I am like a sponge and just by talking to him [Martino] I am learning a lot. He tells me to learn from this experience, enjoy it and his wish is for me to choose Mexico over the United States,” said Álvarez.
“With the Mexican national team i’ll go anywhere. It doesn’t matter if it's with the youth teams or the senior team. I am very proud to wear this jersey and I would like to play in the Olympics, but to think about representing Mexico in a World Cup it gives me goosebumps,” he added.