Álvaro Fidalgo finally took his place in the ‘Tricolor’ midfield on Thursday night, as the former Club América star logged his first minutes for Mexico in a scoreless draw with Portugal. The Real Betis midfielder earned a starting spot at the revamped Estadio Banorte, and played 60 minutes in what turned into a tight contest.

Fidalgo’s Mexico debut: an analysis

Despite the stalemate, the three‑time Liga MX champion left a strong impression on the pitch. “El Maguito” was flawless in his distribution. According to Sofascore, the Real Madrid youth product completed 27 of 28 passes, good for a sparkling 96% accuracy rate. Fidalgo also showcased his ability to orchestrate the attack; he did not miss a single pass in the opposing half (19/19), making him the most precise offensive player among Mexico’s starters.

The midfielder offered a glimpse of the form he showed at América, where he was a relentless two‑way force with a knack for arriving in the box. In the 15th minute, Bryan Gutiérrez sparked a counterattack from midfield with a perfectly weighted through ball to the Spaniard. The former Águilas captain pushed the ball forward with his first touch, and just as he seemed poised to pull the trigger, a well‑timed sliding challenge from Samú Costa denied him what would’ve been the opening goal for El Tri. It was Fidalgo’s clearest scoring chance of the night.

The Spanish-born 28-year-old, who left América for Betis in January, completed his naturalization process as a Mexican citizen earlier this year, shortly before moving to LaLiga. Thursday’s World Cup warm-up marked the first opportunity for Mexico boss Javier Aguirre to incorporate him into his system, and based on what Fidalgo delivered, he may well emerge as the natural replacement in midfield after Marcel Ruiz’s injury left a glaring vacancy.

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