Mexico announces U21 call up list for training camp

Mexico has released the list for a U21 training camp to take place from August 29 to September 6 during the FIFA date in the Centro de Alto Rendimiento (CAR). It will be the start of the process for the 2024 Olympic Games and will be lead by Raul Chabrand, who was the U20 coach for the last process that was cut by the cancellation of the 2021 U20 World Cup because of the COVID-19 virus.

The call up list was the following:

Goalkeepers: Ruben Castellanos (Necaxa), Fernando Tapia (America), Hipolito Holguin (Tampico Madero)

Defenders: Victor Guzman (Tijuana), Jesus Gomez (Atlas), Ramon Juarez (Puebla), Jesus Rivas (Pumas), Daniel Aceves (Pachuca), Jorge Rodriguez (Toluca), Abrahan Freyfield (Pumas), Emilio Lara (America), Jose Castillo (Pachuca)

Midfielders: Benjamin Galdames (Union Española), Jonathan Herrera (Atlas), Amaury Garcia (Pumas), Jordan Carrillo (Santos), Zahid Muñoz (Atletico San Luis), Edgar Games (Santos), Raul Castillo (Puebla)

Forwards: Santiago Gimenez (Cruz Azul), Gerson Vasquez (Tijuana), Emanuel Montejano (Pumas), Ettson Ayon (Tijuana), Sagir Arce (Mazatlan)

The most notable call up has to be Cruz Azul sometimes-starter Santiago Gimenez. Gimenez has been talked about as someone who could play for the senior national team, and is by far the most advanced of all the players in the list. Also notable are players like Santos duo of Edgar Games and Jordan Carrillo. Mexico seems to have a good list to start a process for the National Team. There was no news of playing a friendly, although they typically end up closing camp with one of those games. With the process being three years away, it will be a long haul and there is a strong possibility that Chabrand will only be a caretaker before the Olympic coach is settled. It is however the official start of the cycle, as Mexico hopes to improve upon the Bronze medal won in Tokyo, which is by far the biggest highlight of 2021 for Mexican football.