Mexico release Olympic qualifying roster

Jaime Lozano named his 20-man roster on Thursday for the Concacaf Olympic Qualifying tournament taking place in Guadalajara starting March 18.

All of the players listed were with the squad in the latest training camp, and the vast majority have been attending all of Lozano’s camps throughout his tenure, making this a group he knows well.

The roster is listed below:

Goalkeepers (3): Sebastian Jurado (Cruz Azul), Luis Malagon (Necaxa), Carlos Moreno (Pachuca)

Defenders (6): Jesus Angulo (Atlas), Vladimir Loroña (Tijuana), Alejandro Mayorga (Chivas), Alan Mozo (Pumas UNAM), Gilberto Sepulveda (Chivas), Johan Vasquez (Pumas UNAM)

Midfielders (8): Erick Aguirre (Pachuca), Roberto Alvarado (Cruz Azul), Jesus Ricardo Angulo (Chivas), Uriel Antuna (Chivas), Alan Cervantes (Santos Laguna), Sebastian Cordova (Club America), Joaquin Esquivel (FC Juarez), Charly Rodriguez (Monterrey)

Forwards (3): J.J. Macias (Chivas), Santiago Muñóz (Santos Laguna), Alexis Vega (Chivas)

There was some speculation over whether players like Antuna or Cordova would appear on this list or with Gerardo Martino’s senior team for the upcoming March friendlies, but in the end, both were called up by the Olympic team.

Two notable omissions from the attacking line were Cruz Azul’s Santiago Gimenez and Santos Laguna’s Eduardo Aguirre, with Lozano instead choosing Mexican-American dual national Santiago Muñóz, who has been on a tear lately in Liga MX with three goals in five starts.

Muñóz is the only player included from Mexico’s U-17 team that reached the World Cup final in 2019. Other notable stars from that bunch such as LA Galaxy’s Efrain Alvarez, Tijuana’s Victor Guzman, Boavista’s Alejandro Gomez and Lille’s Eugenio Pizzuto were not a part of Lozano’s process and/or are playing abroad, minimizing their chances of being selected for this squad.

Almost every player called up has been very active in Liga MX, playing 500 minutes or more so far this season. Muñóz has played just below that, at 474, while Jurado has just one game under his belt and Moreno has yet to debut with Pachuca’s first team.

Mexico’s Olympic qualification process will begin March 18 against the Dominican Republic, with games against the United States and Costa Rica slated for March 21 and March 24, respectively.

The two finalists from the tournament will receive Concacaf’s two bids to Tokyo 2021.

What do you think of the squad? Who was left out? How far will Mexico go? Let us know in the comments below!

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