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Veteran Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa is headed to a sixth World Cup, and he'll certainly be the old man in the room.
Mexico manager Javier Aguirre announced his World Cup squad on Sunday, May 31 with Ochoa on the roster for a sixth time, matching Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the most all-time and passing Mexican trio Antonio Carbajal, Andrés Guardado and Rafa Márquez who were named to five teams. If Ochoa sees time, it will be the fourth World Cup in which he has played.
The legendary goalkeeper, now 40, has stolen the show at multiple World Cup tournaments, keeping a clean sheet against Brazil at the 2014 World Cup, averaging more saves per match than any goalkeeper in the 2018 tournament and becoming the first Mexican goalkeeper to save a penalty at the World Cup in 2022.
He goes into 2026 not as the starter, with Chivas shot-stopper Raul "Tala" Rangel expected to be the No. 1. He could see time, especially if El Tri has clinched passage to the knockout stage ahead of its third group match, a date with Czechia at the Estadio Azteca.
While Ochoa's presence will be familiar to fans, Mexico hopes this tournament is the start of a youth movement, with legendary ex-midfielder and former Ochoa teammate Rafa Marquez waiting in the wings as Aguirre's assistant before taking over the head coaching duties after the tournament.
Teenage sensation Gilberto Mora, a 17-year-old who plays for Club Tijuana, is on the roster, as are four other players who are 23 or younger. Two of those players, Atletico Madrid midfielder Obed Vargas and Chivas midfielder Brian Gutierrez, were born in the U.S.
They're the first Mexican-Americans to play for El Tri at a World Cup since 2014 when California-born Isaac Brizuela and Miguel Ángel Ponce made Miguel Herrera's squad. However, neither earned minutes in any World Cup matches. Vargas, who came through the Seattle Sounders system, and Gutierrez, who developed with the Chicago Fire, would be the first MLS products to play for Mexico at a World Cup.
Other naturalized players include Julián Quiñones, who was born in Colombia and came through the Tigres system before winning Liga MX titles with Atlas and Club América, and Alvaro Fidalgo, a Spain native who teamed with Quiñones at América and acquired his Mexican citizenship before leaving this winter for Real Betis in his native country.
Other World Cup veterans will be more critical for El Tri than Ochoa, with Fulham forward Raul Jimenez, Fenerbache midfielder Edson Alvarez and center-back pair Johan Vasquez and Cesar Montes expected to form the spine of the team and start the most important matches.
Mexico opens the World Cup against South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City, then travels to Jalisco to face South Korea before returning to the capital to meet Czechia.
Goalkeepers: Raul Rangel (Chivas), Carlos Acevedo (Santos Laguna), Guillermo Ochoa (AEL Limassol)Defenders: Israel Reyes (Club América), Jesús Gallardo (Toluca), Jorge Sánchez (PAOK), César Montes (Lokomotiv Moscow), Johan Vásquez (Genoa), Mateo Chávez (PSV)
Midfielders: Erik Lira (Cruz Azul), Luis Romo (Chivas), Obed Vargas (Atlético Madrid), Brian Gutiérrez (Chivas), Orbelín Pineda (AEK Athens), Edson Álvarez (Fenerbahçe), Gilberto Mora (Club Tijuana), César Huerta (Anderlecht), Álvaro Fidalgo (Real Betis), Luis Chávez (Dynamo Moscow)Forwards: Roberto Alvarado (Chivas), Alexis Vega (Toluca), Julián Quiñones (Al-Qadsiah), Santiago Gimenez (AC Milan), Guillermo Martínez (Pumas), Armando González (Chivas), Raúl Jiménez (Fulham)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mexico World Cup roster has Guillermo Ochoa, Mexican-American pair
Continue reading...
Mexico manager Javier Aguirre announced his World Cup squad on Sunday, May 31 with Ochoa on the roster for a sixth time, matching Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the most all-time and passing Mexican trio Antonio Carbajal, Andrés Guardado and Rafa Márquez who were named to five teams. If Ochoa sees time, it will be the fourth World Cup in which he has played.
The legendary goalkeeper, now 40, has stolen the show at multiple World Cup tournaments, keeping a clean sheet against Brazil at the 2014 World Cup, averaging more saves per match than any goalkeeper in the 2018 tournament and becoming the first Mexican goalkeeper to save a penalty at the World Cup in 2022.
He goes into 2026 not as the starter, with Chivas shot-stopper Raul "Tala" Rangel expected to be the No. 1. He could see time, especially if El Tri has clinched passage to the knockout stage ahead of its third group match, a date with Czechia at the Estadio Azteca.
While Ochoa's presence will be familiar to fans, Mexico hopes this tournament is the start of a youth movement, with legendary ex-midfielder and former Ochoa teammate Rafa Marquez waiting in the wings as Aguirre's assistant before taking over the head coaching duties after the tournament.
Teenage sensation Gilberto Mora, a 17-year-old who plays for Club Tijuana, is on the roster, as are four other players who are 23 or younger. Two of those players, Atletico Madrid midfielder Obed Vargas and Chivas midfielder Brian Gutierrez, were born in the U.S.
They're the first Mexican-Americans to play for El Tri at a World Cup since 2014 when California-born Isaac Brizuela and Miguel Ángel Ponce made Miguel Herrera's squad. However, neither earned minutes in any World Cup matches. Vargas, who came through the Seattle Sounders system, and Gutierrez, who developed with the Chicago Fire, would be the first MLS products to play for Mexico at a World Cup.
Other naturalized players include Julián Quiñones, who was born in Colombia and came through the Tigres system before winning Liga MX titles with Atlas and Club América, and Alvaro Fidalgo, a Spain native who teamed with Quiñones at América and acquired his Mexican citizenship before leaving this winter for Real Betis in his native country.
Other World Cup veterans will be more critical for El Tri than Ochoa, with Fulham forward Raul Jimenez, Fenerbache midfielder Edson Alvarez and center-back pair Johan Vasquez and Cesar Montes expected to form the spine of the team and start the most important matches.
Mexico opens the World Cup against South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City, then travels to Jalisco to face South Korea before returning to the capital to meet Czechia.
Full Mexico national team World Cup roster
Goalkeepers: Raul Rangel (Chivas), Carlos Acevedo (Santos Laguna), Guillermo Ochoa (AEL Limassol)Defenders: Israel Reyes (Club América), Jesús Gallardo (Toluca), Jorge Sánchez (PAOK), César Montes (Lokomotiv Moscow), Johan Vásquez (Genoa), Mateo Chávez (PSV)
Midfielders: Erik Lira (Cruz Azul), Luis Romo (Chivas), Obed Vargas (Atlético Madrid), Brian Gutiérrez (Chivas), Orbelín Pineda (AEK Athens), Edson Álvarez (Fenerbahçe), Gilberto Mora (Club Tijuana), César Huerta (Anderlecht), Álvaro Fidalgo (Real Betis), Luis Chávez (Dynamo Moscow)Forwards: Roberto Alvarado (Chivas), Alexis Vega (Toluca), Julián Quiñones (Al-Qadsiah), Santiago Gimenez (AC Milan), Guillermo Martínez (Pumas), Armando González (Chivas), Raúl Jiménez (Fulham)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mexico World Cup roster has Guillermo Ochoa, Mexican-American pair
Continue reading...
