Is Carlos Vela playing at the CONCACAF Gold Cup?

With both the Copa America and Euro 2020 starting to enter the final stages of competition, the global football community will turn their attention to the Gold Cup after CONCACAF announced on 13 May the official schedule for the 2021 competition. The event will take place from 10 July to 1 August and, for the first time in its history, will have a preliminary phase, which be played between 2 and 6 July. This phase will determine the remaining teams that will join the group stage of the tournament that is being held in the United States.

15 Gold Cup tournaments have been staged since it's inception in 1991 and bar a Canada win in 2000, the title has been shared between North American powerhouses in the United States and Mexico and both nations start out as pre-tournament favorites.

Tata's per-tournament list

Mexican manager Tata Martino recently confirmed his pre-tournament squad and will then have to confirm the definitive roster on 30 June. Many eyebrows were raised when the name of LAFC striker Carlos Vela was not included in the Argentine coach's list. 

Capped 72 times by 'El Tri' Vela has suffered recently with his MLS side through injury and is slowly easing himself back into full match fitness for Bob Bradley's side. The Cancun born striker ruled himself out of the Gold Cup and recently stated: "I spoke with Tata, we had a long conversation and there were two fundamental things: the first one is family, where I have priorities and I will not give details. And the other is I’ve had my chances, my opportunities with the national team and nothing extraordinary happened. Now it’s time to give other players an opportunity; young players who for sure will be in the next World Cup."

Vela to retire from El Tri?

Vela has yet to officially retire from international football and speaking to the LA Times in April of this year he swerved the question from journalist Kevin Baxter and claimed that his focus was just on 'getting back to his best level'.