Raúl Jiménez left out of Mexico squad for Nations League clash
Mexico coach Jaime Lozano announced his squad list for the Final Four of the Concacaf Nations League. Raúl Jiménez, recently back from injury, misses out.
Mexico are gearing up for the first big commitment of the year - the Final Four of the 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League. Head coach Jaime Lozano today named a 23-man squad for the tournament, including a mix of locally-based players and ones who are at European clubs.
El Tri aspire to lift the trophy for the first time since its inception in 2019. The most notable absentee on Jimmy’s list is Rául Jiménez. The Wolves striker has been omitted despite being doubtful during the past few days. Jiménez only recently returned after spending the last 33 days recovering from a hamstring injury. After discussing the matter with the player and his coaching staff, Lozano decided it wasn’t worth risking the player’s health after such a delicate injury.
World Cup players included in Mexico list
Nevertheless, the list features a number of players who were at the last World Cup: Ochoa, Montes, Vásquez, Sánchez, Arteaga, Álvarez, Romo, Chávez, Rodríguez, Alvarado, Antuna, Pineda, Lozano and Henry Martín, along with a few new faces who the coach is gradually introducing such as Julio González, Jesús Orozco Chiquete and Julián Quiñones. Five forwards and seven midfielders have been included in what is an attack-minded roster - including Erick Sánchez, whose great season with Pachuca has been rewarded with a call-up.
Mexico squad list for the CONCACAF Nations League Final Four
Goalkeepers
- Guillermo Ochoa (Salernitana)
- Luis Malagón (América)
- Julio González (Pumas)
Defenders
- César Montes (Almería)
- Johan Vásquez (Genoa)
- Erick Aguirre (Monterrey)
- Jesús Orozco Chiquete (Chivas)
- Jorge Sánchez (Porto)
- Julián Araujo (Las Palmas)
- Jesús Gallardo (Monterrey)
- Gerardo Arteaga (Monterrey)
Midfielders
- Edson Álvarez (West Ham)
- Luis Romo (Monterrey)
- Luis Chávez (Dynamo Moscow)
- Carlos Rodríguez (Cruz Azul)
- Erick Sánchez (Pachuca)
- Roberto Alvarado (Chivas)
- Uriel Antuna (Cruz Azul)
Forwards
- Julián Quiñones (América)
- Orbelín Pineda (AEK Athens)
- Hirving Lozano (PSV Eindhoven)
- Henry Martín (América)
- Santiago Giménez (Feyenoord)
Centre-back Héctor Moreno, who recently recently announced his retirement from international football, is another noticeable absentee. He played his last game for the national team almost exactly one year ago, ending his international career with 132 caps.
Mexico begin their Concacaf Nations League Final Four campaign against Panama in the semi-finals on Thursday 21 March, at 9:15 p.m. ET / 7:15 p.m. PT. The game will be a re-edition of the 2023 Gold Cup final, which Mexico won 1-0. In the other semi-final, the United States take on Jamaica. Both games will be played at the AT&T stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The title will be decided in the final on Sunday 24 March, with kick-off scheduled for at 8:15 p.m. ET / 6:15 p.m. PT. The game for third place will also take place at AT&T Stadium, three hours earlier at 5 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT.