The striker that declined playing for USMNT and now can replace Raúl Jiménez in Mexico National Team

If Gerardo “Tata” Martino wants to compete against Poland and Argentina in the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he will have to make several changes to the roster he usually called during the CONCACAF Qualifiers.

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During the last FIFA match window, Martino finally realized that placing Johan Vásquez alongside César Montes as the center backs was a great improvement from what Héctor Moreno and Néstor Araujo had done in the past.

Added to Guillermo Ochoa on the goal and Gerardo Arteaga as left-back and Jorge Sánchez as right-back, Martino has the starting defense. But from the midfield up nothing is defined, expect for Edson Álvarez, who has become the best player in the roster.

It’s clear that the offense is where Martino has to do most of the work, as neither Raúl Jiménez, Rogelio Funes Mori, Henry Martín nor even Santiago Giménez were able to score on a constant basis, something that will be needed in the World Cup if they want to transcend.

He refused to play for USMNT and Martino can call him

Although the options seem to be reduced for the Argentine coach in Liga MX, there’s several Mexican strikers playing outside Mexico, whether is in South America, the United States, or in Europe, although most of them are still young.

But among all of them, Santiago Muñoz, who already has experience playing in Liga MX, is the one that stands out the most, as he has established as an essential player for the U-23 squad of Newcastle United, although he trains regularly with the senior team.

Even if he was born in El Paso, Texas, Muñoz has preferred the Mexican national team from the academy teams, as he’s done the whole process with El Tri, from the U-17 team to the U-23. For now, he’s just waiting to be called to the first team to show what he’s capable of.

Can he make it to the World Cup?

It took several months for Santiago Muñoz to be taken into consideration by the Magpies as he was injured when he first joined them, but now that he has established as a regular player in the academy, if he gets to debut in Premier League and plays consistently, Martino will have no other choice than to call him for Qatar 2022.

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