Who’s in and who’s still fighting? A Mexico World Cup camp report | OneFootball

This week, 18 players are already training in Mexico City under Javier Aguirre ahead of Friday’s friendly against Ghana at Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla.

The match against the Africans will be the first of three friendlies El Tri will play before opening the World Cup on June 11 against South Africa at Estadio Ciudad de México.

The Mexican national team is finally starting to take shape. And yeah, it’s already been a couple of weeks since the 12 Liga MX players who essentially had their World Cup spots secured were identified.

How It’s Shaping Up

This week, captain Edson Álvarez (Fenerbahçe) reported to camp, along with César Montes (CSKA Moscow), Jorge Sánchez (PAOK), Mateo Chávez (AZ Alkmaar) and Luis Chávez (Dynamo Moscow). Besides those “Europeans,” Guillermo Ochoa of AEL Limassol had already joined camp a few days ago as he searches for a historic sixth World Cup appearance.

With them, the 12 Liga MX players who were already considered locked in — after the agreement between clubs that they would skip the Clausura 2026 playoffs in exchange for basically guaranteeing their World Cup spots — are now joined by these five players plus Ochoa.

With that number, only eight spots remain to complete the 26-man squad that will participate in the World Cup. Although among those remaining names are Johan Vásquez, Raúl Jiménez, Álvaro Fidalgo, Obed Vargas and Orbelín Pineda, meaning there would realistically only be three places left to fill.

Okay, and before people start yelling at me. Yes. I did not forget Santiago Giménez. And I’m bringing him up quickly because he still does not have his place secured. That would be one of the three remaining spots. But Aguirre’s dilemma is whether to take him after a nightmare season with AC Milan, or bring Germán Berterame, Messi’s teammate at Inter Miami.

Seventeen are Locked In

Going back a bit, among the 18 players already in camp, only Luis Chávez would not be 100 percent guaranteed on the final list, as he just recently returned from a torn ACL.

So out of the 18 currently sleeping in Mexico City, 17 are basically already headed to the World Cup.

Those players are the following:

Goalkeepers:Raúl Rangel (Chivas)Carlos Acevedo (Santos Laguna)Guillermo Ochoa (AEL Limassol)

Defenders:Mateo Chávez (AZ Alkmaar)Jorge Sánchez (PAOK)Jesús Gallardo (Toluca)Israel Reyes (América)César Montes (CSKA)

Midfielders:Gilberto Mora (Xolos)Edson Álvarez (Fenerbahce)Brian Gutiérrez (Chivas)Luis Romo (Chivas)Roberto Alvarado (Chivas)Alexis Vega (Toluca)Erik Lira (Cruz Azul)

Forwards:Armando González (Chivas)Guillermo Martínez (Pumas)

Already in camp but still uncertain:Luis Chávez (Dynamo)

Not in Camp, But (Probably) Locked In

The players who have not yet joined camp but almost certainly have their place at the World Cup are:

Johan Vásquez (Genoa)Raúl Jiménez (Fulham)Orbelín Pineda (AEK)Álvaro Fidalgo (Real Betis)Obed Vargas (Atlético de Madrid)Julián Quiñones (Al Qadsiah)

Among the European-based players still trying to sneak onto the roster are César Huerta (Anderlecht) and Santiago Giménez (AC Milan).

In fact, with all the players already mentioned, the 26-man squad would technically already be complete. Although Aguirre’s doubts remain centered on whether to call up Giménez or Berterame to round out the attack.

On the Bubble

César Huerta is another player who could end up missing out, as he only recently returned for Anderlecht in Belgium after dealing with sports hernia issues and will likely arrive without much competitive rhythm.

His spot on the roster could instead go to one of these Liga MX players:

Richard Ledezma (Chivas)Carlos Rodríguez (Cruz Azul)Marcel Ruiz (Toluca)Jordan Carrillo (Pumas)Diego Lainez (Tigres)

Without a doubt, whatever decision Javier Aguirre makes will be dramatic for several players who were part of the process and will ultimately be left out. Take Marcel Ruiz, for example, who suffered a partial ACL tear a few months ago but decided against surgery just so he could make a push for the World Cup and has looked in great form ever since. Despite that, Aguirre did not include him among the “safe” Liga MX players. Had he not suffered that injury, his World Cup participation would probably be guaranteed.

Another player left out of the provisional 55-man roster announced by Mexico a week ago was Rodrigo Huescas of Copenhagen, who did not recover in time from a torn ACL.

Queue the Drama

It would also be genuine drama if Aguirre ultimately chooses Berterame over Giménez, considering the striker was already excluded from the Qatar 2022 World Cup by Gerardo Martino, who instead took another naturalized Argentine-born Mexican striker in Rogelio Funes Mori.

Giménez has not had his best season since arriving at Milan, where he failed to score in 15 Serie A appearances. On top of that, he also underwent ankle surgery.

Missing out on another World Cup would not be pleasant at all for a striker who has shown he is different from the rest of Mexico’s forwards, but it increasingly feels like Aguirre sees the future of the national team attack in Armando González.

The final roster will be announced sometime between May 25 and June 1, ten days before Mexico’s debut against South Africa and the deadline to submit the squad.

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