New Mexican national team manager Diego Cocca named his first 34-player roster for upcoming Concacaf Nations League matches against Suriname and Jamaica, with several key players returning to international action.
Edson Alvarez, Hirving Lozano, and Guillermo Ochoa were among the inclusions in Cocca’s first roster, as El Tri sit three weeks away from closing group stage play. Hector Herrera and club captain Andrés Guardado were not included in the roster, while a total of six players (including Herrera and Guardado) from the 2022 World Cup squad were not included.
Former L.A. Galaxy and current Barcelona defender Julian Araujo is the lone dual-national player on El Tri’s roster, which does not include Club America attacker Alex Zendejas. Zendejas, who hasn’t played since Feb. 4 due to injury, made his USMNT debut in January against Serbia.
Zendejas has yet to commit his future to either the USMNT or Mexico, and Cocca confirmed that if the 25-year-old wants to play for Mexico, he needs to file a one-time international switch with FIFA to do so.
“The first [conversation] was to let him know that our intention was for him to be with us, and the second was to also make it clear that today he’s not eligible, that he needs to sign a paper to be with the national team and the decision is his,” said Cocca. “We made the timeline clear so he can make a decision.”
Mexico sits top of Group A in CNL play and would guarantee a spot in the knockout round by finishing first. El Tri will travel to Suriname on March 23 before hosting the Reggae Boyz on March 26.
Here is a closer look at the full Mexico CNL roster:
Goalkeepers: Carlos Acevedo (Santos Laguna), Guillermo Ochoa (Salernitana), Jose Antonio “Toño” Rodriguez (Club Tijuana)
Defenders: Israel Reyes (Club America), Hector Moreno (Monterrey), Nestor Araujo (Club America), Jesus Gallardo (Monterrey), Gilberto Sepulveda, (Chivas), Kevin Alvarez (Pachuca), Jesus Angulo (Tigres), Julian Araujo (Barcelona), Jorge Sanchez (Ajax), Cesar Montes (Espanyol), Johan Vasquez (Cremonese), Gerardo Arteaga (Genk).
Midfielders: Luis Romo (Monterrey), Arturo Gonzalez (Monterrey), Roberto Alvarado (Chivas), Fernando Beltran (Chivas), Carlos Rodriguez (Cruz Azul), Uriel Antuna (Cruz Azul), Marcel Ruiz (Toluca), Erick Sanchez (Pachuca), Luis Chavez, (Pachuca), Sebastian Cordova (Tigres), Edson Alvarez (Ajax), Erick Gutierrez (PSV)
Forwards: Diego Lainez (Tigres), Hirving “Chucky” Lozano (Napoli), Orbelin Pineda (AEK Athens), Henry Martin, (Club America), Roberto de la Rosa (Pachuca), Raul Jimenez (Wolverhampton), Santiago Gimenez (Feyenoord)