Julio Furch, the striker that Mexico National Team needs alongside Raúl Jiménez

One thing Gerardo “Tata” Martino hasn’t been afraid of doing during his stint as Mexico National Team coach, is calling the players he thinks are the answer to El Tri’s needs, not caring if they were born in Mexico or acquired the citizenship later.

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Although he’s severely criticized by other decision, like calling the same player over and over again, or not giving youngster the opportunity to prove themselves wearing Mexico National Team colors, Martino has given players like Rogelio Funes Mori the chance of playing for El Tri.

Given the lack of Mexican strikers that currently have a fruitful season -Rogelio Funes Mori and Henry Martín are not part of that group-, “Tata” Martino might have to look in a different direction to find the striker that El Tri needs.

Since his arrival in Liga MX in 2014, Julio Furch has been a reliable striker in every single team he’s been part of, from the now extinct Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz to Santos Laguna and now with Atlas, where he was an essential player for Diego Cocca to finally win a Liga MX title after more than 70 years.

Is Julio Furch available to play for El Tri?

His arrival in Mexico National Team depends on two different factors. The first one is the history he has playing for other National Teams, something he hasn’t done, as he never played for Argentina National Team or their academy teams.

The second factor is having lived at least five years in the country to be a candidate to earn the Mexican citizenship. Furch has lived in Mexico for over 7 years now and was in the process of becoming a Mexican citizen. If Gerardo Martino wants to call him, Furch could debut with El Tri as soon as the upcoming FIFA match window.

Julio Furch’s numbers in Liga MX

Since his arrival in 2014 with Veracruz, Julio Furch hasn’t left the top 10 of Liga MX scorers, and he currently is the third active striker with most goals in Liga MX, with 98, just behind André-Pierre Gignac, with 133, and Rogelio Funes Mori, with 106. Although it’s worth mentioning that he’s score over 100 goals in official matches playing for Liga MX teams, as he’s also played in CONCACAF Champions League.

He played 80 games with Veracruz, in which he scored 32 goals and 8 assistances over the span of two years. From 2017 to 2021, when he was part of Santos Laguna, Furch scored 69 goals and 21 assistances in 163 games. Finally, he’s played 33 games with Atlas so far, scoring 11 goals and assisting 5 times.

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