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Jonathan Gonzalez makes Mexico debut

The conversation over the past few weeks has largely centered around Jonathan Gonzalez’s decision to suit up for Mexico. On Wednesday night, he did so for the very first time.

Gonzalez made his much-discussed Mexico debut by coming off the bench in a 1-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The 18-year-old midfielder replaced Elias Hernandez in the 57th minute of the friendly, and was on the field when Hugo Ayala scored off a corner kick from LA Galaxy star Jonathan dos Santos.

Gonzalez, who was born in the United States and represented the U.S. on the youth national team level before recently filing his one-time switch of allegiances to play for Mexico, impressed El Tri head coach Juan Carlos Osorio in the game.

“If you consider his young age and that this was his first time wearing the Mexico jersey, the performance was positive,” Osorio told reporters. “He was brave in the decisions he made. It isn’t easy to play in that part of the field while having to perform specific tactics to help open space inside for the fullbacks.

“His performance leaves us with the feeling that he understands the game, that he understands those responsibilities. Everyone knows he is living an extraordinary moment at present and that his future is very promising.”

A regular starter for Monterrey in Liga MX, Gonzalez is looking to make Mexico’s roster for this summer’s World Cup in Russia. His next chance to play for El Tri could come in March in friendlies vs. Iceland and Croatia.

Comments

  1. We’re not going to know anything abouthis ability until he plays several more games…remember we were a;ll screaming about rossi and he never made it to the world cup for italy due to lack of selection or injury so we do not know what the future holds….it is clear he aleways wanted to play for mexico…so let him and let’s move on…when we play mexico and he lines up against us, I hope he gets body checked to the first row….

    Reply
    • People keep trying to push this narrative that he always wanted to play for Mexico….bs.

      It seems like there are multiple reasons he went to Mexico…lack of opportunities at US youth levels, indifference from US coaches/scouts/etc, Mexico rolling out the red carpet for him, and the chance to play in a WC.

      Truth is we don’t value the types of players that have success in Liga MX. We have a lot of great athletes in our player pool…but not a lot of great soccer players. We need the technical/creative players that thrive in Liga MX.

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    • I have no ill will towards Gonzalez…I wish him the best in the WC. I am more pissed at Thomas “Messi has a low soccer IQ” Rongen and the rest of the incompetents over at USSF.

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  2. Shouldn’t the headline be “El Tri World Cup Squad Lays Stinker Against Bosnia-Herzegovina C team?”

    So the same team that the USMNT D team tied 3 days ago managed a close 1-0 defeat to El Tri’s squad full of WC starters? Yeah, Mexico is gonna go deep in Russia…

    Reply
    • El tri was missing a lot of starters…Guardado, Herrera, chicharito, Layun, Lozano, tecatito Corona…just to name a few. This was nowhere near a full strength Mexico side.

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  3. Actually played pretty well as a box to box…Definitely quick and comfortable on the ball at only 18 years old…USA loss is Mexico’s gain …Dammit

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    • Comfortable mostly defending against a B team that could not score against the USA.s babies either. That is not much of an endorsement of his ability. Let’s see how he does in a game against quality International opposition before we jump on the “wow he is special” bandwagon.

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      • No “wow he is special” endorsement, but said he played “pretty well” for an 18 year old…lol….It was his first cap and he looked comfortable in it…

  4. Pinche puto traidor quedate para siempre..Fuck you traitor stay in México forever,the
    land of,corruption,narco,and much violence,you are not idol anymore in USA,i am mexican
    whit spanish rootts,but a whis you a bad luck

    Reply
    • He used our youth system to do this. He was always going to play for mexico. Let’s move on to players who aren’t mex/Amercian and better than he is. Tyler Adams and Weston Mckennie just to name two. Happy whiffing JG!

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      • Once you put aside the cliches Jonathan Gonzales is better that Pulisic. There’s just no way around it. I give it about three weeks before Pulisic finds his butt firmly planted on the bench unless he suddenly finds a run of good form.
        Nineteen year olds are a dime a dozen in the bundesliga but non- producing ones don’t tend to last too long.

    • Rob:
      Are you serious? As good as Pulisic? That’s ridiculous. CO has shown his skill against very top teams in the world. JG plays in Mexico and has 30 minutes against a lower level B&H B team.
      Let’s keep some perspective.

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    • Rob “the troll” has returned. I was wondering what was up with the “new” Rob whose comments made sense, showed interesting insights and humor. This is just bottom of the barrel scraping troll trash. Are you bipolar? Schizophrenic? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed today? I await the return of “relevant” Rob.

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      • No, Stoger sucks. Yarmalenko sucks. CP continues to create, nobody except Kagawa can finish. System Stoger runs is easy to defend and stifles creativity.
        Wish CP had gone elsewhere in January as BVB will suck rest of season unless Baty turns out to be answer. Doubtful under Stoger.

    • Liga MX is better then MLS but no where close to the Bundesliga. I mean Omar Gonzalez Ventura Alvarado, Jose Torres, and Jonathan Bornstein have been starters for clubs that won titles or were in finals in recent years.

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    • It will be interesting to see what people say if he does get to go to the WC and has a break out, similar to Andres Guardado when de debuted. But the comparisons with Pulisic are tough to make since they play such different roles. Pulisic does offer a creative spark and speed, but as we saw with the US or with BD right now, his role depends on other’s finishing and/or keeping the midfield chugging along. Whereas Jona is in the mid and has replaced a very good DM in what is the #1 or #2 best team in Concacaf. His impact will be different and how he’s judged will be too. How about we say they’re both good players and leave it at that. If it is comparisons between players in similar positions/roles that you’d like to make, then Lozano vs. Pulisic would be more apples and apples.

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    • yeah, he’ll have fun being apart of a mediocre squad for decades. Listen, from my perspective the US has better, younger players coming through the ranks of top to middling european clubs. If these players pan out and are playing consistently for their clubs in the next few years i could see the US being at the top of region and making some waves globally! Not qualifying is a setback for sure, but let the process of the next 5 years take shape and we’ll see where we are!

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      • Ignorance, denial or arrogance?
        History has taught us that the great majority of those youngsters, if not all of them, will never amount to much and will never feature for the national team That’s just the way it is all around the world.
        Gonzalez is far from a prospect. He’s an already made playe at the same level as Pulisic or higher.

      • Rob, you are out of your mind. Pulisic has scored in the Champion’s League, played in Der Klassiker, played against Real Madrid four times, and already produced a dozen goals for his national team. Nothing Jona has done comes close to any of that.

      • Ronnie, your comment reeks if the kind of arrogance that helped create the mess U.S. soccer is in right now. Delusions of imminent grandeur and unjustified superiority.

    • Robbo – History has nothing to do with it. The talent that the US is finally starting to develop is unlike what we’ve had, historically. It’s mostly due to the cultural and infrastructure changes that are relatively recent. We are only scratching the surface. Mexico, meanwhile, is about as good as they can be. In fact, Gonzalez is Exhibit A to prove this. Don’t get me wrong, it completely sucks that he chose Mexico, but the US has a lot teenage prospects coming up, while he is basically the be all, end all for Mexico…. and they had to cherry pick him from the US.

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      • Mexico’s got talent coming up don’t worry. You guys have to hype up teenagers because your current team has let you down. The US has always had more players in Europe and a high percentage flop. Remember Boyd at Dortmund? Lennon at Liverpool? Landon at Munich?

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