Which Liga MX players could go with Mexico to the World Cup?
El Tri’s coach Gerardo Martino called up 20 players for the friendly against Paraguay and this will be their last opportunity to make a case for themselves.
On Monday morning, the Mexico national team trained for the first time in Atlanta, Georgia, ahead of their friendly against Paraguay on August 31 at Mercedes-Benz stadium. This game is not during the FIFA international window so El Tri’s head coach called up 20 players from Liga MX that will have one last opportunity to make a case for themselves to be included in the final roster that will travel to the Qatar World Cup in November.
Despite some concerns, the good news is that for the first time in the history of the global tournament, the teams will be able to travel will 26 players, instead of 23, so there are three extra spots available. According to various reports, Gerardo Martino already has 20 players in the final roster for the World Cup, so there are only six spots available and the Liga MX players will receive an opportunity against the CONMEBOL side.
Mexico players that have a secured World Cup spot
The Liga MX players that will most likely be included in the final roster are: César Montes (Monterrey), Jesús Gallardo (Monterrey), Carlos Rodríguez (Monterrey), Roberto Alvarado (Chivas), Uriel Antuna (Cruz Azul), Guillermo Ochoa (América), Alfredo Talavera (Juarez), Néstor Araujo (América), Héctor Moreno (Monterrey) and Alexis Vega (Chivas).
The Mexican players from Europe’s top-tier that are expected to travel to Qatar are: Jorge Sánchez (Ajax), Johan Vásquez (Cremonese), Gerardo Arteaga (Genk), Edson Álvarez (Ajax), Andrés Guardado (Betis), Erick Gutiérrez (PSV), Raúl Jiménez (Wolverhampton), Diego Lainez (Braga) and Hirving Lozano (Napoli).
Héctor Herrera from Houston Dynamo is the only Mexican player in Major League Soccer that is expected to play in the upcoming FIFA World Cup. So Martino will be closely watching Carlos Acevedo, Kevin Álvarez, Luis Romo, Luis Reyes, Fernando Beltrán, Luis Chávez and Rodolfo Pizarro when El Tri plays against Paraguay on Wednesday night.
Martino is also monitoring Henry Martín (Club América), who got injured over the weekend and couldn’t travel to the United States, Santi Giménez, who scored his first goal with Feyenoord, and Rogelio Funes Mori (Monterrey). The three strikers are fighting to be the second option behind Raúl Jiménez and are making a case for themselves to play in the World Cup.