Edson Alvarez should get the start versus Brazil

Edson Alvarez is one of the youngest players in Mexico’s World Cup roster and he has already accrued 212 minutes in three straight matches. At just 20 years of age, gis presence has shown maturity on the field despite his most recent own goal against Sweden. Indisputable, his position on the field can be translated in different positions, from center back to defensive midfielder and now being utilized the majority of time on the right defensive side of the field.

Alvarez has had 19 duels won out of 31, 6 clearances, 5 interceptions, 5 tackles, a total of 110 accurate passes and a total of 5 completed dribbles. Most importantly for coach Juan Carlos Osorio, his height at 6’1 is an important asset to the Colombian manager. El Machin has started 2 out of the 3 games and has not received a yellow or red card.

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Osorio praises Alvarez routinely, who invited Alvarez to partake in the practice roster in last year’s Confederations Cup, which led him to be in the final roster of this year’s World Cup tournament. He also had a satisfactory participation in the Gold Cup.

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The unfortunate own goal that gave Sweden’s third goal should not diminish the value of Alvarez. He has the potential to be an essential factor of slowing down Neymar and company on Monday’s match.

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As Alvarez stated on social media after Mexico’s defeat, “experience is the name we give to our mistakes”. At the very least, his mind seems to be at the right place.