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Having announced a second tier, yet competitive, squad to represent Mexico at the Copa America, Miguel Herrera made it known that Mexico’s priority is the Gold Cup.
The Dos a Cero loss to the United States must have encouraged Herrera to choose his strongest side for the CONCACAF tournament. Losing to your greatest rival is never an easy pill to swallow, especially before a high-stakes tournament like the Gold Cup.
Miguel Herrera is on a mission to restore regional pride for El Tri and in doing so, has chosen his best 11 European-based players.
These are the 11 European-based players announced to be a part of the squad:
Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez
With Karim Benzema out for most of the second half of the season, Real Madrid forward Chicharito has seen a lot more minutes and has scored crucial goals for Los Blancos. He has proved he’s deserving of a starting spot on Herrera’s team and will hope to fire El Tri to Gold Cup glory. With his club situation up in the air, it’ll be good for Chicharito to shine during the tournament. It wouldn’t be surprising if he ends up top goalscorer.
Carlos Vela
Carlos Vela has had a tough season with Real Sociedad. The forward is still arguably Sociedad’s most important player. With a new manager and several injuries this season, he hasn’t hit the heights he reached last season. Having sustained a self-exile from the national team for quite sometime, it’s refreshing to see him be a huge part of El Tri’s plans moving forward, especially with his performance against the Netherlands last year in the 3-2 win for El Tri.
Giovani dos Santos and Jonathan dos Santos
Villareal players and brothers Giovani dos Santos and Jonathan dos Santos have also been called up. Jonathan has had a better season with Villareal. He’s been a consistent starter and has had less injuries than his brother. Gio has had to fight for his starting spot and will hopefully be able to do well in the Gold Cup so that he can regain a consistent form.
Guillermo Ochoa
Ochoa has hardly played for Malaga. The goalkeeper hasn't been able to oust first choice keeper Kameni. Regardless of this, though, Herrera is still set on keeping the fan-favorite as his number one keep. Ochoa needs to figure out his club situation and if he does well at the Gold Cup, it might lead to his stock going up.
Hector Herrera
It’s great to see Porto’s Hector Herrera doing so well at the club level. Hopefully his successes at that level will transpire into success with El Tri. Herrera will be tough to handle in the midfield for CONCACAF teams. He’ll be making El Tri tick.
Other Players
The rest of Mexico’s European-based call ups consist of Diego Reyes, PSV Eindhoven’s Andres Guardado, Espanyol’s Hector Moreno, Watford’s Miguel Layun and Twente’s Jesus Manuel Corona. The Gold Cup will give Mexico the chance to qualify for the 2017 Confederations Cup and will give Mexico regional pride.
