Carlos Acevedo on his aspirations with Santos Laguna & Mexican national team | OneFootball

Santos Laguna and Mexican national team figure Carlos Acevedo is on the rise.

The goalkeeper just signed a contract extension with the Liga MX side, keeping him at the club through 2027. He stands as a homegrown success story, working through the academy ranks before reaching the first team in 2016.

But it wasn’t always easy. Acevedo initially joined Santos Laguna at the age of 10, and after five years with the institution, he withdrew due to lack of opportunities. He returned in 2013 to play with the Under-17 side, before quickly being dropped for another goalkeeper.

It took him three tries, but Acevedo finally received the chance to make an impact with the club in 2015 with the Under-20 squad. Since then, the goalkeeper has strived to reach his best form.

He’s made an incredible impact on the Santos Laguna, leading the club to an 8W-7L-11D record last season and six clean sheets to earn the captains armband of his hometown team.  This year, the goalkeeper has kept two clean sheets in six games, as Santos Laguna sit in eighth on the Liga MX table.

While Acevedo remains incredibly proud of all he’s accomplished with the team already, several targets remain.

“I want to play a lot of finals with Santos, win championships. It would be an incredible dream to be champions with the team,” he said exclusively to 90min.

Acevedo's career in Liga MX has also propelled him to reach the Mexican national team, earning three caps so far since debuting in December 2021 in a friendly against Chile. While Club America’s Guillermo Ochoa remains locked in as Mexico’s starting goalkeeper for the World Cup, Acevedo is fighting for a spot on that 26-player roster.

“I want to keep fighting for an opportunity [with the National team] to make the World Cup. My objective right now is Qatar, and to be one of those 26 players to make the roster. As time goes on, I want to be a constant figure in the national team call ups and be a reference for the national team goalkeeper,” he added.

With Liga MX in full swing, and a few months until the World Cup, Carlos Acevedo still has time to secure his spot as one of three goalkeepers to make Gerardo Martino’s 26-player squad headed to Qatar.