Mexico U20s announce friendly games and call up list

Mexico has announced a new series of friendlies and the call up list for their U20 team. Mexico will be traveling to Marbella, Spain where they will face England on October 9th and France on October 11th. The two strong friendly opposition are part of the preparation for a U20 Tournament that will be held in Celaya this November. This is all in preparation after the news that the 2022 U20 CONCACAF Tournament will be not only the qualifiers for the U20 World Cup, but also the 2024 Olympic tournament. Mexico will return to Marbella where they played two friendlies in September against Spain, losing both, the first by a 5-1 score and the last one by a 3-2 score.

The call up list is the following:

Goalkeepers: Emiliano Perez (Necaxa), Diego Reyes (Pachuca)

Defenders: Jonathan Gomez (Louisville City FC), Antonio Leone (LAFC), Jesus Alcantar (Necaxa), Raul Martinez (Chivas), Rodrigo Parra (Tijuana), Rodolfo Garza (Atlas)

Midfielders: Marcelo Flores (Arsenal), Christian Torres (LAFC), Fidel Ambriz (Leon), Jonathan Perez (LA Galaxy), Isaias Volante (Toluca), Karel Campos (America), Salvador Mariscal (Santos), Adrian Gonzalez (LA Galaxy)

Forwards: Emiliano Garcia (Villarreal), Diego Abreu (Defensor Sporting), Jesus Hernandez (Queretaro), Bryan Gonzalez (Pachuca)

The most notable call up is of defender Jonathan Gomez. Gomez, who is a Mexican-American could play for either National Team, has been playing in the Mexico youth teams unlike his brother Johan Gomez. Jonathan would be a big addition, as just this week it was announced that he would be moving to Real Sociedad in Spain. Another addition up is the continuing call up of Marcelo Flores who played the Spain matches. The Arsenal star is poised to be an important piece for the team in the qualifying process.

With the news that the U20 team will have to be one to qualify for the Olympic games, the most important youth tournament, Mexico has increased the need for the team to grab both tickets. With the past two games against Spain, the friendlies against England and France and the fact they will play a tournament on November, it shows that Mexico will probably be the most tested team for the U20 Championship, even more so than the United States. At most they will be head above shoulders at least in testing that the rest of the CONCACAF teams. The news that there will not have a U23 CONCACAF Championship for the next is detrimental to Mexico and it increases the job for Coach Luis Perez but with both teams (U20 and U21) going to Marbella and facing tough European opposition, it can at least be known that Mexico is working hard on doing the job for the goal of Olympic qualification.