Finally, a project for the national team… and it’s criticized too!

The preliminary roster for the 2024 Copa América has been announced. A list that surprised many due to the absence of the so-called “sacred cows” of the Mexican national team.

Jaime Lozano and his coaching staff made a historic decision by leaving out the key figures of El Tri for an official and highly important tournament. Guillermo Ochoa, Hirving Lozano, Raúl Jiménez, Jesús Gallardo, and Henry Martín were the major absentees.

The reason? There are two years left until the World Cup in our country, and the future is not looking very promising. The main idea from ‘Jimmy’ is to see different faces and test them in a highly demanding scenario such as a continental tournament. It’s true, this should have been done a long time ago, but it wasn’t, and I believe the famous saying: “better late than never” fits perfectly today.

The average age of Mexico’s last call-up for the Final Four against Panama and the United States was over 27 years old. This means that if we maintain this base, by 2026 we will have a team averaging nearly 30 years old. This is very high, and we already suffered from it in Qatar 2022, being the oldest team.

But today, I want to talk about the famous critics. Those who are NEVER, absolutely NEVER satisfied with anything. And by this, I don’t mean that opinions or criticisms can’t be expressed, not at all. However, I believe these should come with a certain level of analysis or preparation. That’s where you can tell if the criticisms are substantiated or if they are just for fun. I truly believe there is a group of fans and colleagues who only seek to ‘blast’ and enjoy doing it. They don’t contribute. They don’t add value. They don’t suggest. They don’t study. They only go against the grain, something that happens quite often in this field.

Let’s get to the heart of the matter. Even with the key players, the Mexican national team was not favored to achieve anything significant in the Copa América. Let’s start from there; unfortunately, that’s the reality, and today Mexico aspired, at most, to reach the semifinals. Which also seemed difficult.

What’s my point? That even a negative result was highly likely, and probably the directors and coaching staff realized this. What would be gained if Mexico brought the same players as always? Most likely, another failure and criticism towards the current coach for continuing to call up the same players.

Instead, Jaime Lozano decided to leave out several players, not forever, but to see other faces and understand what they can bring to the table. To know their potential in highly demanding tournaments. To create internal competition and, by the end of the Copa América, to know if there are players who can integrate into the final process towards the World Cup. Otherwise, there’s no way to know if a Malagón can compete with Ochoa. If an Arteaga is ready to take the left wing of the national team. If Santi Giménez can take the lead and establish himself as the starting center forward over Henry or Raúl Jiménez.

But we can go further. Bryan González from Pachuca is 21 years old, and this could well be an important showcase for him to get an opportunity in Europe. Another 21-year-old is Andrés Montaño, who has had a couple of outstanding seasons and also needs a more significant platform than Mazatlán (with all due respect) to grow.

And the list goes on with Tala Rangel, 24; Chiquete Orozco and Víctor Guzman, 22; or Marcelo Flores, who at just 20 is starting to reach the level that was expected of him and has earned a new opportunity with the Mexican national team.

If among those mentioned, at least 2 or 3 manage to step up and even attract interest from European teams, the Copa América will already be more beneficial than any other tournament in recent years.

The project is aimed at 2026, and the eternal problem that has historically plagued our football is the immediacy and the desire to achieve short-term results. For the first time, something is being sought in the medium term (because we are clearly already late), but something different is being sought. It’s sacrificing the possibility that Mexico might be eliminated in the group stage, which would not leave sponsors and broadcasters satisfied, but in exchange for a -minimum- sporting benefit.

Is that also wrong now?

There are times when I don’t understand much about this industry, or maybe I understand too much, but I still remain very naive to believe that it can change someday.

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