Charly Rodríguez on Mexico’s Nations League chances: “We need to improve and win it”

Mexico have high hopes of winning their first Nations League title next week. Just three editions of the tournament have been played, with El Tri being denied by the United States in both of the previous tournaments. In 2020, the inaugural edition, the USMNT beat Mexico 3-2 and in the 2023 edition, they defended the trophy by beating Canada (2-0).

Jaime Lozano’s Mexico squad fly out to Dallas on Sunday and will set up a training camp at the Cotton Bowl Stadium where preparations for the Final Four will start on Monday. The first test comes Thursday when they will take on Panama at AT&T Stadium in Arlington in the semi-final - both teams seeking their first CONCACAF Nations League title.

Charly nearing 50 appearances for Mexico

One of the players who is keen for Mexico to consolidate last year’s Gold Cup success - and pick up his second winners’ medal at international level is Cruz Azul midfielder, Carlos Rodríguez. Charly is optimistc about the team’s chances in Dallas, and hopes to reach a half century of caps. “My plan is to enjoy being part of the squad and I’ll give the best of myself [in training] to win a place in the side,” the Cementero player told reporters before heading off to report for duty, adding that being with the national team is a source of motivation. “Obviously, we all want to show that the team is ready to grow - and even more so with this opportunity to show what it means to win a tournament”.

Rodríguez, hopes that Mexico will change history by beating Panama to set up a meeting the Stars and Stripes in the final and get their revenge for losing out to the USMNT in last year’s semi-final. “In our last game against the US in the Nations League, we didn’t play well against them. We must improve, be better this time and win the tournament,” he explained.

The international call-up will also help Rodríguez to put recent results at club level with Cruz Azul out of his mind for a short while. He played the full 90 minutes of Saturday’s 1-2 defeat to Necaxa - the team’s second consecutive defeat.

Rodríguez and Uriel Antuna are the two Cruz Azul players who have been summoned Jimmy Lozano for the Nations League Final Four. Last night’s defeat keeps the team third in the general table on 22 points but they could drop down a place if Pachuca win their meeting with San Luis later this evening.