Gerardo Martino considered them against Guatemala but their teams didn’t agree to loan them

Their chances of making it to Qatar 2022 have reduced considerably.

23/04/2022, 10:11 PM +00:00

Mexico National Team will face their first friendly game of 2022 on April 27, when they play against Guatemala in Camping World Stadium, in Orlando, Florida; a match that will be played only with young players, as none of the Europeans made the trip.

More Mexico National Team news:

Mexico vs Guatemala: Prediction, odds, TV channel, and live stream of El Tri friendly match

After the CONCACAF Qualifiers, where the Mexican national team prioritize the results over the performance, Gerardo “Tata” Martino understood that he has seven months to find a better way of making El Tri improve their overall work on the pitch.

That’s why even if he knew he wouldn’t be able to have the usual roster, he will use the game against Guatemala to tryout players that often don’t have a chance in the first team, especially since he knows he still needs to find some players to strengthen the squad.

But he also opened the doors for new players that eventually will become the starting players, like Jonathan Gómez, Marcelo Flores and David Ochoa, as well as calling some that most likely will be part of the final roster to Qatar 2022, like Israel Reyes and Carlos Acevedo.

Three players were left out thanks to the negative of their club

But the particularity that Martino’s list has, is that there’s only 20 players instead of the usual 23. Although before releasing the call-up he had considered 23 players, three of them didn’t receive permission from their clubs.

The first player that won’t be part of El Tri is Alexis Vega, as Chivas didn’t agree to loan him for the game on April 27 for a disciplinary measure taken within Chivas after he was sent off on the game against Cruz Azul, after he choked Ignacio Rivero.

The second player that couldn’t make it to the final list is Luis Malagón, Necaxa’s goalkeeper, given that Necaxa is still pursuing the ticket to Repechaje and loaning him to El Tri could jeopardize their goal if something happened to Malagón, who has been an essential player for Jaime Lozano.

The biggest absentee: Juan Pablo Vigón

Juan Pablo Vigón is the third and last player that didn’t receive permission from his team, Tigres, as Miguel Herrera refused to loan him, cutting short his aspirations of making it to Qatar 2022, especially since Vigón has been one of the best midfielders of the season.