Gerardo Martino finally understood and has found a replacement for Héctor Herrera

Mexico National Team will have at least seven games to prepare for the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, as they announced yesterday the five friendly games they will face from April until August, added to the two games they’ll play for the CONCACAF Nations League.

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Gerardo “Tata” Martino will use those games to improve the performances of the team and work in the individualities that the players can contribute to the team, two things that El Tri stopped doing during the CONCACAF Qualifiers.

Martino is aware that the Mexican national team prioritized the results over the performance, but now that they have the ticket to Qatar 2022, they will have to return to the things they used to do during the first two years of Martino’s stint.

But if they want to start playing at a high level, some of the usual players in El Tri’s roster don’t have a place in the Aztec squad anymore, as they have showed time after time that they don’t have what it takes to be considered as the best players.

Héctor Herrera, with a foot outside El Tri

One of the players that shouldn’t be considered anymore by Martino is Héctor Herrera, as his level has dropped significantly for the past couple of years, especially when playing for the Mexican national team, as he has answered to Diego “Cholo” Simeone when he gives him the chance of playing.

As if that wasn’t enough, the 31-year-old midfielder decided to leave one of the most competitive leagues in the world to join the MLS just months before the World Cup starts, which speaks volumes about his commitment with El Tri.

But Gerardo Martino, who has been attending several Liga MX games in the past couple of weeks, has paid especial attention to Cruz Azul’s midfielder Erik Lira, according to reports from David Medrano, as he believes that Lira has conditions to assume Herrera’s role in the near future.

Will Lira arrive at Qatar 2022?

So far, Gerardo Martino hasn’t considered Erik Lira to any official match, although he already gave him two caps in friendly games, against Ecuador and Chile. Lira is going to be part of El Tri’s roster that faces the friendly game against Nicaragua at the end of April, and if he impresses the Argentine coach, he will keep appearing in his call-ups.

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