He plays in Barcelona and will resign to play for USMNT to join Mexico National Team

Now that Mexico National Team knows who are going to be their rivals in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, they have seven months to solve the problems that El Tri suffered from during the CONCACAF Qualifiers, where their performances were far from acceptable.

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Gerardo “Tata” Martino accepted that El Tri needs to improve if they want to be able to compete against Poland, Argentina, and Saudi Arabia, as the Argentine coach prioritized the results over the performances of the team in the Qualifiers.

The Aztec squad has begun their preparation with a friendly game against Guatemala on April 27, where “Tata” Martino used an alternate roster given that it wasn’t a FIFA match window. Although the game ended in a scoreless draw, Martino had the chance of observing different players.

According to reports from sports journalist David Medrano from TV Azteca, Martino already has decided 20 out of the 26 spots for the final roster, opening the door to some younger player to keep their hopes up for a place in Qatar 2022.

FC Barcelona has the next Mexican gem

Two of the positions that Gerardo Martino hasn’t found a player that’s good enough is on the offense, as El Tri is lacking both an offensive midfielder and a forward that can score consistently, as neither Raúl Jiménez, Rogelio Funes Mori nor Henry Martín have been that player.

But there’s a young player that currently is part of FC Barcelona academy teams that has the talent to become the next scorer of the Mexican team, as Samuel Mendoza has become one of the most skilled players that La Masía has scouted.

Although he’s not able yet to sign with the Blauguranas given that he is underage, the 17-year-old offensive midfielder currently plays for one of the Barcelona academies around the world, in Phoenix, Arizona, although he is followed to be part of La Masía as soon as he turns 18.

Can he play for Mexico?

Even if Mendoza was born and raised in the United States, he did it on a Mexican household, which is why he has declined to play for USYNT and has been part of the academy teams of El Tri, where he started his process with the U-15 team.

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