As Mexico gears up for a busy summer with the Copa America Centerario and the Rio Olympic Games one thing is clear: they want to make a good impression at both. Head coach Juan Carlos Osorio has already said much, as the
While aiming to do well for both is a good goal for the federation and says all the right things, the first and number one priority should be do as well as Mexico can in the Copa America. Mainly because it’s a senior tournament and it will be a great measuring stick for El Tri to see how they stack up against the best in the Americas in this special one-off tournament. All indications point to every country bringing their best teams besides maybe Brazil, who look to try and win gold in home soil. Even so, Brazil has enough talent to take a great team even if they have one eye on Rio.
Young quality
Because of this, Mexico needs to bring what Osorio believes is his best 23 players, regardless of age. Which means that if the likes of Jesus Corona, Hirving Lozano, and Rodolfo Pizarro are of the quality and level to be on the senior team they should be playing in the States. Only after the Copa America should the
While Mexico making a real run at trying to defend their Gold in Brazil should be a priority, it’s a youth tournament and having these players measure themselves against the best teams in South America in the Copa America is a better indication of the quality they can possess going forward. While their roles might not be as great in the Copa America, and Osorio has a tendency to rotate players, they’ve each showed they have more than enough quality to make an impact for El Tri.
Will Porto have a say?
If any player who can play for both teams get called up there isn’t much indication that their Liga MX teams would really make an effort to try and stop them. The real question is Jesus Corona, who plays a big role with Portuguese club Porto. While Porto can’t really stop Corona from playing in the Olympics, you can’t
Luckily over the next coming weeks Osorio will