It is 2022, and ‘El Tri’ is preparing to close in on their World Cup qualification in upcoming months. Nevertheless, Mexico finds itself in a tough situation as they currently sit 3rd in the CONCACAF World Cup Qualification, only 2 goals above current 4th place Panama. Only the first three national teams qualify directly to Qatar while the 4th team has the play an intercontinental playoff.
Due to this situation, we could see Mexico fall to 4th (or worse) if they fail to turn things around after an unforgettable international break in November. This round of qualifiers saw ‘El Tri’ lose ‘dos a cero’ to the USMNT and 2-1 away to Canada.
Moreover, Tata Martino and his boys will be under immense pressure to steer the ship back to a comfortable qualifiers. And to make things worse, it is speculated that C.F. Monterrey will not release any of their players in this upcoming international break due to their participation in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Here are five players that I think should get called up to the next round of qualifiers. Five players who either have emerged out of nowhere, or have been ignored by el Tata.
5. Gerardo Arteaga, K.R.C. Genk
This is a player that many fans of ‘El Tri’ have been asking to get called up. Gerardo Arteaga is a 23 year-old leftback who plays for the Belgian club, K.R.C Genk. Arteaga is the most consistent Mexican abroad and looks like the obvious choice for the starting lineup.
Surprisingly, Tata Martino still chooses Jesus Gallardo over him, who’s arguably been one of the worst players in the national team recently. This decision of choosing Gallardo over Arteaga comes after the 23 year-old decided to opt-out of the Gold Cup and the Olympics to be with his family. Since then, Tata has vetoed him from ‘El Tri’, but this veto could be lifted soon.
With the emergence of Monterrey not wanting to release their players, Jesus Gallardo would not be in the next international camp. If this happens, Tata will have no other choice but to call up the best Mexican leftback at the moment.
4. Julian Araujo, LA Galaxy
In October 2021, Mexican-American soccer player, Julian Araujo, decided to file his ‘one-time switch’ to represent Mexico over the United States. Although many claim that the 20 year-old did this due to the heavy competition in the USMNT rightback position, he is still a very promising player.
Araujo played in the F.C. Barcelona Academy growing up and has been rumored to depart to Europe in the near future. He’s a rightback who contributes to the attack, and who’s always finding ways to improve defensively.
He was called up to the Mexican National Team for a friendly against Chile. During this friendly, Araujo was one of the players that stood out the most. He showed more defensive solubility in one game than Jorge Sanchez or ‘Chaka’ Rodriguez have shown in one year. If Araujo gets called up and plays another fascinating game, he will undoubtedly become the starting rightback in the upcoming World Cup.
3. Erik Lira, Cruz Azul
In the past two friendlies, Mexico has called up a ton of new faces to explore new options. In those two friendlies, Tata has apparently been impressed by 5-6 of those new faces. One of those faces is 21 year-old Erik Lira.
Lira is a central midfielder who can play both ‘the ‘6 and ‘the 8’. In the friendlies against Ecuador and Chile, Lira stood out due to his ball retention and ball recovery abilities. He was a key player for Pumas UNAM, whom reached the semi finals last season.
The only problem with Erik Lira is that he would have to fight with Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez for a spot in the starting lineup. Nevertheless, Lira has recently transferred to Cruz Azul to elevate his game and ultimately fight for a spot in the World Cup roster.
If for some reason Edson isn’t available, Erik Lira is a good replacement for the starting lineup.
2. Charly Rodriguez, Cruz Azul/ Alejandro Zendejas, Club America
For the second spot, I decided to put two player that play similar positions. I went with 25 year-old Carlos ‘Charly’ Rodriguez and 23 year-old Alejandro Zendejas. Both are multi-functional players who can play anywhere in the midfield (and even in the attack). You can put them as defensive midfielders, box-to-box midfielders, the 10, and even as wingers!
Charly Rodriguez was once a player who had impressed Jurgen Klopp at the FIFA Club World Cup. Rodriguez was a player who was wanted by S.S. Lazio, but due to his high release-clause, he was unable to leave.
He had a fall-off in form in 2021 as he slowly began to lose protagonism in C.F. Monterrey. But this winter, Monterrey and Cruz Azul conducted a trade between players (Charly for Luis Romo), and this has completely changed Charly. At Cruz Azul, Charly has been given a ‘more free’ role in the midfield, which has seen him score two goals in his first two starts.
On the other hand, Alejandro Zendejas is a player who has been constantly overlooked. He first moved to Mexico age 18, transfering from F.C. Dallas to Chivas where had little to no playing time. Eventually Zendejas transferred to Necaxa. At Necaxa, Zendejas became a completely new player and ultimately became to club captain.
His performances saw him be included in the preliminary Olympic squad and saw him get called up to the friendly against Ecuador in October. Zendejas has recently moved to Club America, where good performances there could see him become a regular for ‘El Tri’.
When you take into consideration Mexico’s lack of a offensive midfielder, Zendejas and Rodriguez stand out. With the dip in form in player such as Cordova and Pizarro, Charly and Zendejas should be Tata’s top focus.
1. Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez, LA Galaxy
In the number one spot, I decided to include a player who will most likely not be included. Since 2019, el Chicharito hasn’t played with El Tri following a rumored locker room scandal. Tata took matters into his own hands and banned Hernandez from the Mexican National Team.
You might be wondering, ‘why are you suggesting Chicharito despite all this?’, and the answer to this is because Mexico needs him. During Tata’s reign so far, Mexico has struggled to have a prolific goalscorer.
Raul Jimenez was never a goalscorer for Mexico, and he’s certainly far away from that as he is still trying to get back to his peak after being out for almost a year. Tata has called up other strikers like Rogelio Funes Mori and Santiago Gimenez, but they’re not as good or inexperienced respectively.
IF there’s anyone who’s always been a goalscorer for El Tri it’s Chicharo. He’s the all-time goalscorer for Mexico, and was 4th in the MLS goal scorers list despite missing most of the season due to injury. Mexico need a striker who will find ways to score and carry the team on his back, and Chicharito is exactly what El Tri needs.
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