WWhen Guillermo Ochoa landed at Mexico City airport in August 2019, he was greeted by hundreds of fans, some inside the terminal, others outside, where a few brave people jumped onto the roof of the vehicle that carried the goalkeeper from the airport to the airport. Club America headquarters.
Everyone was desperate to break through the sea of humanity to catch a glimpse of the legendary Mexican goalkeeper as he returned to his boyhood club. Now it feels like no one wants to see him at all.
Despite a good spell with América, consistent performances for the Mexican national team and a season and a half that started with the Serie A Salernitana (although the team was relegated to Serie B this season), Ochoa was left out of the Mexican Copa América. schedule.
The 38-year-old was the victim of manager Jaime Lozano who gave in to calls for generational change. Mexico fans want to win major tournaments and feel this is not possible with the generation of players who reached the World Cup round of 16 in 2014 and 2018 and failed to advance out of the group stage in 2022.
The plan was for Ochoa’s replacement at América, Luis Malagón, to succeed him on the national team. But those well-laid plans failed. Malagón suffered an injury that will keep him out of the Copa América, leaving Lozano to choose between two goalkeepers who were uncapped ahead of the pre-tournament friendlies or the late addition of Carlos Acevedo.
Ochoa was not the only victim of the desperation for change. Current PSV and future San Diego FC winger Hirving Lozano – barely a senior at 28 – is out. América striker Henry Martín (31), Toluca full-back Jesús Gallardo (29) and Fulham striker Raúl Jiménez (31) have also all been left at home, big veterans who had a reason to be in the squad but were left out .
“We are still two years away from our World Cup,” Mexico sporting director Duilio Davino said after announcing the squad. “We have secured our place and we want to take advantage of this great opportunity not to think about the immediacy of the result and chart our path to 2026.”
Like the US and Canada, Mexico is trying to take a middle position, working towards a home World Cup in 2026 while reflecting the reality of the moment. A number of those left out did not show the form needed to compete for a starting role during their club season with Mexico. Still, dismissing the older players simply because of their age is a strategy that won’t end in a trophy this summer – or beyond.
In a national team, change must be self-evident. The idea is to replace older players with younger players as they can no longer match the talent in the player pool. Instead, Mexico will enter a tournament without a goalkeeper in strong form and without a difference maker out wide.
Fans are getting impatient. Federation officials too. In Mexico there are always rumors that managers feel pressure from above, the heavy thumb of a director or TV rights holder or even Liga MX club owner on the scales. Those who are conspiracy-minded will note that Ochoa and Lozano’s places have been taken by Liga MX-based players.
The reality is scarier: While Mexico isn’t such a sinking ship that they’re shuffling deck chairs onto the Titanic, they are remodeling the living room furniture. There are no new additions to really spice things up. The players that Mexico fans have grown tired of seeing are still the best the country has.
If Ochoa kept his place and prevented a rising star from getting international minutes, that would be one thing. Costa Rica legend Keylor Navas just retired from international football, paving the way for Patrick Sequeira or Kevin Chamorro to gain experience for the 2026 World Cup. There are indications that Ochoa would still like to play for El Tri at that tournament, which kicks off at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, where he had so many of his best moments for club and country.
While Costa Rica lags behind Mexico in the Concacaf competition, El Tri are in second place in the region. The USMNT are undefeated in their last seven meetings with Mexico. And the difference in the quality of individual players is evident when you examine their path to their national teams.
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Unlike Major League Soccer, where teams are eager to sell young players, Liga MX teams are often reluctant to sell emerging players. When they do let a young star leave, it is often to one of the bigger Mexican players. Clubs.
After winning the Concacaf Champions Cup with Pachuca, 24-year-old midfielder Érick Sánchez Reportedly has offers to join Club América or Real Oviedo in Spain this summer. Players who have faced the same choice in the past have discovered that there is often more money to be made by staying in Mexico. Such is the financial weight of the clubs and the importance owners place on securing national team stars. Why would you leave your family and friends to move to a country you’ve never been to and earn less money for your troubles?
However, that means players like Martín and Gallardo are hitting a ceiling, as they often know their place in their club’s starting XI is secure and are rarely challenged by new techniques or information that coaches in Europe’s top five leagues can offer.
Some of Mexico’s top prospects took the risk but failed to make it among Europe’s top teams and opted to return to Mexico. Although players such as West Ham midfielder Edson Álvarez and Genoa centre-back Johan Vásquez have good reputations within their European clubs, they are the outliers rather than the bulk of the squad. Meanwhile, the US has just three players in the MLS on Gregg Berhalter’s Copa América roster, and many of their Europe-based players crossed the Atlantic as teenagers, spending years training with the world’s best clubs.
“I think they are players from the best leagues,” said Jaime Lozano when asked after March’s Nations League final defeat what needed to change for Mexico to top the US again. “That’s the best thing that can happen for me as a manager, but also for the national team as a whole, regardless of who is in charge.”
Yet Lozano goes into Saturday’s opening match against Jamaica with questions about goalkeeper and attack, precisely because he once again trusts the best that Liga MX has to offer.
If these young, domestic players are unable to step up and get results in this tournament, the veterans can return with fans lining up once again to welcome Ochoa back where he belongs.