The degradation that the Mexican National Team suffered is worthy of attention. Little remains of the group of players who faced Brazil in the 2018 World Cup and the truth is that few current footballers can be considered at the level of those who defended El Tri six years ago.
Edson Álvarez, now captain of the ‘Azteca’ team, is the only one who ‘survives’ from the last duel against the ‘verdeamarela’, the rival that El Tri will face tonight, amidst many doubts and pessimism.
This is how Mexico came out to face the duel for the round of 16 of Russia 2018 against Brazil:
· Guillermo Ochoa, out of the last list
· Rafael Márquez, retired
· Hugo Ayala, retired
· Carlos Salcedo, not summoned
· Jesús Gallardo, out of the last list
· Andrés Guardado, retired from the national team
· Héctor Herrera, not summoned
· Edson Álvarez, current captain of Tri
· Carlos Vela, retired from the national team
· ‘Chicharito’ Hernández, not called up
· ‘Chucky’ Lozano, off the latest list
At that time, players like Ochoa, Rafael Marquez (who said goodbye in that match), Guardado, Herrera, Vela, Hernández and Lozano were in good shape. Some of the best players in the history of the ‘Aztec’ team were in a good moment, while now, the two really important figures there are Edson Álvarez and Santiago Giménez.
Even the substitutes from that 2018 summer duel were at a good point of maturity: Miguel Layún (now retired), Jonathan dos Santos (dismissed from the national team) and Raúl Jiménez (not called up).
There is a generational change, it is clear. A renewal was urgently needed, yes, but unfortunately for Mexico, it did not happen naturally and most of the new players do not seem to live up to their predecessors.
