Jesús Corona doesn’t believe ‘Memo’ Ochoa should continue playing for Mexico

Guillermo Ochoa has his sights set on becoming the first player in history to appear in six World Cups when Mexico co-hosts the event in 2026 alongside the United States and Canada. The veteran goalkeeper decided to leave Club América during the transfer window and move on loan to Serie A side Salernitana to maintain his top form.

It is time for the young goalkeepers

The 37-year-old has had very solid performances in Italy’s top tier and even won a couple of Man of the Match awards. So the new head coach of the Mexico national team, Diego Cocca, decided to call him up for the first international window of the year. It’s a decision that didn’t sit well with veteran goalkeeper Jesús Corona because he believes that it is time for the young generation to receive an opportunity.

“It is up to the head coach to make the best decisions regarding what the national team needs in this new cycle. I imagine that he [Cocca] called up Ochoa because he is an experienced goalkeeper and maybe he can help the young players that are doing a great job with their respective clubs. Memo has demonstrated he is capable of being the starting goalkeeper time after time and that’s why he was called up,” said Corona.

“I think the new generation should receive an opportunity. The last process I was not called up to and I respect that. The head coach has the final say, but I have been with the national team for 15 years since my debut. But I repeat, it’s time for the new generation to step up and they should receive an opportunity,”

The most in-form goalkeeper in Mexico right now is Santos Laguna’s Carlos Acevedo and many believe that he should be El Tri’s No. 1 under Cocca. The 26-year-old is expected to compete with Ochoa for the starting role in the upcoming tournaments and his first opportunity will be against Suriname on 23 March in the CONCACAF Nations League.