The Mexican national team announced its squad for the upcoming international break where it'll face La Liga team, Valencia, and the USMNT.
It's the second opportunity for manager Javier Aguirre to work with his team since he took over El Tri after Copa America. Aguirre called up 13 players that weren't included in the squad for the friendlies against New Zealand and Canada in early September.
The injury to Santiago Giménez opened the door to explore different options in the striker role. Raúl Jiménez is back after a strong start to the season with Fulham where he's scored four goals in eight games in all competitions for the London side. However, the most surprising inclusion is Monterrey's top goalscorer Germán Berterame.
The player born in Argentina has had a strong start to the Liga MX season, and Aguirre is giving him the chance in the El Tri – further fueling the decades long debate in Mexico about the inclusion of naturalized players in the national team.
Other surprises include the return of goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who is eyeing a record setting sixth World Cup selection. Rodrigo Huescas will get his first chance with the senior national team. The Cruz Azul academy product finalized a move to FC Copenhagen in Denmark and his call up to the national team had been expected for a while.
Another surprise is 19-year-old Obed Vargas. The Seattle Sounders player previously played for the USMNT junior teams. He was born in Alaska but has Mexican born parents, and it seem the Mexico-American player now eyes a spot with El Tri for the 2026 World Cup.
Here's the full Mexican National Team squad for the upcoming friendlies.
Mexico National Team Squad
Forwards
- Raúl Jiménez (Fulham)
- Guillermo Martínez (Pumas)
- Henry Martín (América)
- Germán Berterame (Monterrey)
- Ozziel Herrera (Tigres)
Midfielders
- Andrés Guardado (León)
- Edson Álvarez (West Ham)
- Luis Romo (Cruz Azul)
- Charly Rodríguez (Cruz Azul)
- Marcel Ruiz (Toluca)
- Orbelín Pineda (AEK Athens)
- Sebastián Cordova (Tigres)
- Diego Lainez (Tigres)
- Roberto Alvarado (Chivas)
- Alexis Vega (Toluca)
- César Huerta (Pumas)
Defenders
- César Montes (FC Lokomotiv)
- Johan Vázquez (Genoa)
- Rodrigo Huescas (FC Copenhague)
- Obed Vargas (Seattle Saunders)
- Jorge Sánchez (Cruz Azul)
- Jesús Orozco Chiquete (Chivas)
- Jesús Angulo (Tigres)
- Bryan González (Pachuca)
Goalkeepers
- Luis Malagón (América)
- Raúl Rangel (Chivas)
- Guillermo Ochoa (AVS Futebol SAD)
Mexico national team legend, Andrés Guardado, will be honored in his last action with El Tri. Notable absences from the list include left-back Alan Mozo, winger Luis Quiñones and midfielder Luis Chávez.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mexico National Team Squad For October Friendlies vs. Valencia & USMNT.
