He already plays in Europe, but Gerardo Martino prefers to start Andrés Guardado instead

After the Mexican national team ensured their presence in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Gerardo “Tata” Martino accepted that the performances that El Tri had during the CONCACAF Qualifiers were poor, as they prioritized the results.

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Now that they already know who are the teams that they’re going to face in the group stage of Qatar 2022, Martino will have at least five friendly games, as well as the two matches from the CONCACAF Nations League to solve their performance problems.

It’s true that the strikers that Martino usually calls -Raúl Jiménez, Rogelio Funes Mori, and Henry Martín- haven’t contributed much to El Tri, as the three were able to score only six goals in 14 games, but the problem doesn’t begin in the offense.

Martino has yet to find a duo that makes the Mexican midfield the one that controls the game and not give the initiative to their rivals, something that Andrés Guardado and Héctor Herrera haven’t done, as they look lost and slow whenever they lose the ball.

Who could replace them?

Even if he’s the captain of the Mexican national team, when Andrés Guardado missed the last FIFA match window, El Tri looked better with Edson Álvarez as the defensive midfielder -Álvarez became the best player for Mexico-, and Erick Gutiérrez alongside Herrera.

It took a while for Gutierrez to adapt to PSV Eindhoven’s playing style, but for the current season he’s become an important player for Roger Schmidt. His contributions for the Boeren were essential to the acquisition of his first title with PSV, as he scored a goal in the 2-1 victory over Ajax.

It’s yet to be seen what decision Martino will take regarding his presence in the starting XI instead of Guardado but given that “El Principito” is one of the most sponsored players in El Tri, it looks almost impossible that he’s going to lose his place, at least not for Qatar.

He could leave PSV to a bigger team over the summer

His outstanding performances haven’t gone unnoticed, and Gutierrez could be on the move for the 2022-23 season, as the newly promoted Premier League side Fulham FC is looking to strengthen their squad to compete in England’s top flight and has “Guti” as one of their top priorities.

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